Chapman University’s Vice President for Research, Thomas Piechota, hosts the next Ask the Experts: COVID-19 Research Town Hall on Monday, November 16, 11AM - noon. Tune-in to hear the latest on COVID-19 trends, treatments, and vaccines. The entire Chapman community (staff, faculty, and students) and the broader community are welcome to join using this link.

A Q & A follows each brief presentation, moderated by Tom Piechota.  Visit www.chapman.edu/asktheexperts for more information.

Expert Bios:

Dr. Gjerstad is a Presidential Fellow in the Economic Science Institute at Chapman University. Dr. Gjerstad will review the geographical shifts of COVID-19 cases and assess the shifting mortality over the past eight months.

Jason Douglas, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Department of Health Sciences, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. Guided by the principles and practices of community-based participatory research, Dr. Douglas works with disadvantaged communities to investigate social and environmental determinants of public health disparities. Dr. Douglas is collaborating with Drs. Lawrence Brown, Angel Miles Nash, Emmanuel John, and Georgiana Bostean in an interdisciplinary context to examine COVID-19 morbidity and mortality risk among ethnocultural minority communities in the cities of New York and Los Angeles. By examining COVID-19 impacts in these distinct geographies, this collaborative research seeks to: (1) identify social and environmental factors that may manifest in COVID-19-related health disparities, and (2) develop a Viral Pandemic Risk Index based on study results.

Hagop Atamian, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Chapman University. He has expertise in molecular biology and genomics. Broadly, his research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant adaptation to the environment. This includes how pathogens cause diseases in plants and how to minimize crop losses from these diseases. He will present the first version of the website that his team developed to track the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutations as part of Kay Rapid Research Response Covid-19 funding.  

Dr. Jerika Lam, an Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, and Associate Professor at Chapman University School of Pharmacy, is a member of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) COVID-19 Task Force and Education Committee. She works with an interdisciplinary healthcare team that identifies and discusses the current issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic to update the PSMF’s national and international members about the pandemic’s impact on healthcare, public health, and communities. The Task Force and Committee also provide up-to-date perspectives from European clinicians, including those from the World Health Organization. The past webinar topics hosted by the PSMF included safety recommendations for the general public and vulnerable populations based on guidelines from the CDC and WHO; perspectives and scientific findings from survivors of COVID-19 and the long-term complications of the disease; and discussions about potential therapeutics and vaccine developments for COVID-19.

Jeff Goad, Pharm.D., MPH., is a Professor and Chair in Department of Pharmacy Practice at the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Goad runs the Travel Clinic at the Student Health Center and his research program focuses on the social and behavioral aspects of consumer and healthcare professional’s decision-making process and outcomes related primarily to immunizations and travel medicine. Dr. Goad will be presenting an update on COVID vaccines and the state vaccine distribution plan.