Fall 2020 Seminar Schedule with Zoom Registration Links

The M.S. Health and the Public Interest program invites both students and the general public to the weekly seminar sessions.

Sept. 2, Gary Schwitzer, Publisher of HealthNewsReview.org @ 12pm-1:30pm

Sept. 8, Nicolas Rasmussen MPhil, PhD, MPH, University of New South Wales @6pm-7:30pm

Sept. 16, Erin Sorrell PhD, Georgetown University @12:30-1:30pm

Sept. 23, Tony Scialli MD, Georgetown University@ 12pm-1:30pm

Sept. 30, Joshua Sharfstein MD, Vice Dean of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health @ 12pm-1:30pm

“Advocacy In and Out of the Government” – Dr. Sharfstein talks about what advocacy has meant at different stages of his career.

Oct. 7, Joel Teitelbaum JD @ 12pm-1:30pm

The Role of Law in Creating & Remediating Health Injustice. This presentation broadly describes the myriad ways in which laws and legal policy influence individual and population health and health justice. It effectively argues that law and legal policy represent two of the most important and complex determinants of health, and that change leaders and coalitions must promote law as a tool in their efforts to achieve sustainable health equity.

Oct. 14, Cindy Pearson, National Women’s Health Network @ 12pm-1:30pm

Orgasms for Sale: The Promise & Perils of Treatments of Female Sexual Desire Disorder Cindy Pearson is the National Women’s Health Network (NWHN) Executive Director, responsible for the organization’s. overall direction and activities. Cindy began at the NWHN as the Program Director and has, over the years, coordinated the internship program, managed the information clearinghouse, and directed NWHN’s program and policy work. A transplanted Californian, Cindy moved to the DC region after obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California at San Diego and working as an abortion-rights organizer for Colorado NARAL. Before moving to DC, Cindy worked in several capacities at Womancare, a Feminist Women’s Health Center. She is the president of the board of directors of Women’s Health Specialists in Northern California and the treasurer of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. Click here for the recording.

Oct. 21, Greg Pappas MD PhD, FDA @ 12pm-1:30pm

HHS Response to COVID-19 RADx (Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics) is a $1.3 billion HHS initiative. This presentation will present RADx in a historical context of public health responses to epidemics.

Oct. 28, Peter Lurie MD MPH, Center for Science in the Public Interest @ 12pm-1:30pm

Nov. 2, Carl Elliott, MD, PhD, Professor in the Center of Bioethics, University of Minnesota, author of White Coat, Black Hat @ 12pm-1:00pm

Nov. 11, Lucile Adams-Campbell PhD, Georgetown University @ 12pm-1:30pm

Nov. 18, Sonya Rao JD, Morgan Verkam LLC, Cincinatti , OH @ 12pm-1:30pm

Journey Across the World: How I Got to a US Courtroom Sonya Rao left India when she was just five years old, traveling by herself across the world by plane without speaking a word of English. As a child and young adult, she struggled with—and often rebelled against—her Indian heritage while trying to assimilate into her new home in America. Sonya will discuss her life experiences that led to her becoming a lawyer—and living her legal dreams as a civil rights attorney, a prosecutor, and then a representative of whistleblowers. Click here to register

Dec. 2, Carol Paris MD, Physicians for a National Health Program @ 12pm-1:30pm

A Critical Evaluation of a “Single Issue” Health Care Advocacy Organization. Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) was founded in 1983 as a “single issue” organization of physicians who advocate for a Single Payer, Improved Medicare for All program of financing health care in the US. During this class, we will look, through a lens that considers societal, psychological, and cultural factors, as well as political factors, at their accomplishments and at the “opportunities for growth” that our changing times demand. Click here to register