 |
Dr. David Crouse
Board of the Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures
“Communicating Science in a Stressful World: Vaccine Development”
May 19, 10am | Facebook live presentation
Bio
Dr. Crouse received his undergraduate training in physic at Western Illinois University, his doctoral training in radiobiology at the University of Iowa and post-doctoral fellowship at the Argonne National Laboratory. After coming to UNMC in 1977, he conducted NIH-based research and taught medical and graduate students as he grew in his career. Moving into administration in 1996, he spent seventeen years as the Associate Academic Vice Chancellor and Executive Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. He is now retired from UNMC and has an Emeritus appointment.
Dr. Crouse has been on the Board of the Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures (NCLC) for 13 years and has served as the President since his retirement from UNMC in 2012.
Topic Overview
Dr. Crouse has had extensive teaching experience and recognition in many areas of cell biology, immunology, and stem cell science. At UNMC, he took a lead role in communicating an understanding of the science and ethics regarding stem cell biology and other related topics. He developed programs and taught courses related to “Ethics in Science” and “Responsible Conduct in Research” for graduate students, post-docs and junior faculty. As the President of the NCLC, he has been focused on educating the public and Nebraska Legislators about the importance of maintaining a science based, open and competitive research environment.
In this pandemic focused world, with good reason, there has been a great deal of attention on the development of Covid-19 vaccines. That appears to be the long-term answer to an incredibly significant disease where there is no established and effective treatment. Social distancing, infection-control and strong sanitation measures as well as even quarantine are immediately accessible actions that are all directed at reducing the spread of the virus, especially when the disease may be transmitted by asymptomatic individuals. The intent of vaccination is to prevent or at least reduce the severity of the disease in the first place. Unfortunately, development of vaccines is not a quick process, typically taking more than a year and evidence of long-term effectiveness takes even more time to demonstrate. The presence of a small but vocal “anti-vax” community makes this effort even more challenging. The intent of this presentation is to use Covid-19 vaccine development as a platform to emphasize the importance of a clear, evidence-based discussion of complex but important scientific and clinical topics.
|
