COVID-19 is a highly infectious coronavirus that jumped from an animal host to humans in late 2019 and subsequently became a pandemic. How did coronaviruses make the leap from animal to human? How is COVID-19 transmitted? What legal and policy interventions are in place to ‘flatten the curve’? With so much information scattered over the internet, where can a repository of reliable data and information on COVID-19—such as transcribed case information that has emerged since the outbreak— be found? Join faculty experts in the fields of biology, medicine, law, and informatics from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and School of Medicine to explore COVID-19 from their unique perspectives.

Learning Objectives 
In this recorded webinar you will learn:

• how the method of transmission and clinical presentation of the COVID-19 virus contributes to community spread;
• four (4)actions individuals can take to prevent acquiring or spreading the COVID-19 virus;
• ways in which coronaviruses such as COVID-19 can become highly infectious in humans;
• how previous coronavirus outbreaks have been controlled and ways in which these approaches can be used to control COVID-19;
• the interplay between federal, state, and local emergency preparedness and response laws;
• the power of emergency declarations issued by the president, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, and governors;
• principles of metadata, data sharing, and population health informatics;
• the role of data integration in modeling the COVID-19 outbreak;
• the value of sustainable infrastructure for global health data; and
• discuss the impact that pre-existing conditions, such as HIV, transplantation and some chronic diseases, may have on the risk of contracting COVID-19. 

Target Audience
This presentation is appropriate for public health and clinical professionals, attorneys, researchers, students, and others interested in learning more about COVID-19. 

Presenters
Wendy E. Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, FACPM is a board certified Preventive Medicine physician who serves as the Director of the Center for Public Health Practice, Associate Dean for Practice, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Previously, she served as Wyoming State Health Officer and Public Health Division Administrator for the Wyoming Department of Health. During Braund’s tenure in Wyoming, she led the state’s public health emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
Jeremy Martinson, DPhil is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. His research focuses on the genetic interactions between infectious pathogens and the human host. He has authored and co-authored over 50 articles on the human response to infection with malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and other viral diseases. Martinson is director of the MPH program in Infectious Disease Pathogens and has created multiple courses in public health and pathogen biology.
Elizabeth Van Nostrand, JD is the Director and Principal Investigator for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and Director of the JD and JD/MPH programs. She is the co-author of public health emergency preparedness bench books and manuals for the District of Columbia, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. As a Legal Epidemiologist, Van Nostrand’s current and recent research projects include using law as data for network analysis during emergency preparedness and response events, denoting legal barriers to primary care access after Super Storm Sandy, and identifying interventions used by Problem Solving Courts that impact morbidity and mortality for individuals with substance use disorder.
Wilbert van Panhuis, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His research in the fields of computational epidemiology and population health informatics aims to improve the efficient use of information for public health action. Van Panhuis uses large-scale public health data with statistical and agent-based simulation models to study the spatial spread of infectious diseases. He leads multiple large-scale global health data initiatives, including Project Tycho®, an open-access repository for global disease surveillance data, and the Models of Infectious Disease Agents Study Coordination Center. His disease expertise in diseases concentrates on vector borne diseases (dengue and Chikungunya) in Latin America and Southeast Asia, especially as related to climate, and on vaccine preventable diseases in the U.S. and EU.  

Level
This training is appropriate for those with no, basic, or intermediate levels of experience with COVID-19. (Tiers 1, 2, and 3) 

Competency Areas
Analytical/assessment skills, policy development/program planning skills, public health science skills, community dimensions of practice skills. 

Technology Requirements
This recorded webinar is presented through the Vimeo Internet-based platform. A computer with high-speed internet connection and the ability to download and run this platform is required. Connection information will be provided following registration. 

Creation Date
This training was recorded April 9, 2020.