The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has several experts who can address the spread of the novel H1N1 influenza virus, also called swine flu.

PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS, PUBLIC PERSPECTIVE
Richard Whitley, M.D.
Whitley, UAB’s Director of Pediatric Infectious Disease, has been tapped by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve on the H1N1 influenza working group of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). A professor of pediatrics, microbiology and neurosurgery, Whitley serves as vice-chair of the Department of Pediatrics and as co-director of UAB’s Center for Emerging Infections and Emergency Preparedness. Whitley is also president-elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Expertise: Flu-infection projections, government preparedness, drug stockpiling, common-sense prevention and self-care tips for the public.

H1N1 VACCINE TESTING AND DELIVERY, FLU PREVENTION
David Kimberlin, M.D.
Kimberlin is a professor of pediatric infectious diseases and co-director of UAB’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. He is one of four U.S. physicians serving on the federal Safety Monitoring Committee reviewing clinical trials of H1N1 vaccines. The committee is a part of the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Kimberlin also oversees all pediatric studies conducted by the NIAID Collaborative Antiviral Study Group, and he is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. Kimberlin is associate editor of the academy’s Red Book, a revered pediatric treatment manual.

Expertise: Flu prevention, managing flu symptoms in children, adults and at-risk populations, H1N1 vaccine testing.

ANTIVIRAL THERAPY, FLU-CARE INSTRUCTION
John Gnann Jr., M.D.
Gnann is a professor in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases and medical director of the UAB 1917 Clinic. He is a noted researcher in vaccines to prevent human infection, development of new drugs to treat viral infection and the mechanisms of viral resistance to antiviral drugs. Gnann also oversees all adult studies conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Collaborative Antiviral Study Group.

Expertise: Antiviral resistance, the prevention of flu infection.

INTERNATIONAL FLU SURVEILLANCE, TRAVEL MEDICINE
David Freedman, M.D.
Freedman is a professor in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases and director of the UAB Travelers’ Clinic. A noted expert in the development of disease surveillance networks for travelers and migrants, Freedman is co-director of the GeoSentinel surveillance project, a network of 48 travel- and tropical-medicine units on several continents supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the International Society of Travel Medicine.

Expertise: Travel medicine guidelines on preventive care, flu surveillance networks to characterize the spread and lethality of the virus.

MINIMIZING INFLUENZA’S IMPACT ON LUNGS
Sadis Matalon, Ph.D.
Matalon is a professor of anesthesiology and director of the UAB Pulmonary Injury and Repair Center. He is a noted researcher of the damage flu virus inflicts on lungs. In collaboration with scientists at Southern Research Institute, Matalon has identified a protein in flu virus called M2 that affects the lungs’ ability to clear fluids. The discovery provides a new target for drugs or therapies that may combat flu by halting or minimizing the impact of the virus on the lungs.

Expertise: Lung function, fluid buildup in the airways as a result of flu infection.

MENTAL COPING ADVICE ON FLU STRESS, PANDEMIC ANXIETY
Josh Klapow, Ph.D.
Klapow is a psychologist and associate professor in the UAB School of Public Health. He is a certified disaster mental health specialist with the South Central Center for Public Health Preparedness and a noted wellness expert on anxiety, stress and adjusting daily habits to improve mental and physical health during periods of emotional distress.

Expertise: How-to advice for coping with mental stress, flu fatigue, feelings of crisis brought on by swine-flu in the community and in news coverage.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a separate, independent institution from the University of Alabama, which is located in Tuscaloosa. Please use University of Alabama at Birmingham on first reference and UAB on all consecutive references.

Source:  University of Alabama at Birmingham