Center EventsResilient American Communities: Progress In Practice and Policy
December 10, 2009 The purpose of this invitational conference was to apply state-of-the-art knowledge of resilience to the design of federal policies that will strengthen local communities and their environments to withstand disasters, epidemics, and terrorism. The meeting was convened by the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) and the Natural Hazards Center of the University of Colorado at Boulder.
| Prevention of Biothreats: A Look Ahead
October 6, 2009 This conference, hosted by the Center for Biosecurity in collaboration with the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation, and Terrorism, convened thought leaders from government, the technical and policy communities, and academia to exchange views on preventing the development and use of biological weapons.
| May 23, 2006 This summit was designed to advise leaders in government, public health, and disaster management on the feasibility and benefits of actively engaging citizens in planning for large-scale health emergencies, in anticipation of (1) the ethical dilemmas posed by scarce life-saving medical resources and (2) the logistical difficulties of protecting the well and caring for the sick in large numbers.
| September 23, 2005 During this half-day symposium on avian influenza, world experts briefed leaders from the business and financial sector on actions they could take to mitigate the effects of an avian influenza pandemic. (Available online: speaker video, transcripts, and slides along with synopses of speakers' recommendations, prepared by Center staff.)
| March 2-3, 2005 Organized in collaboration with the World Health Organization Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response (CSR) Office in Lyon, France, this meeting convened 150 scientists, health leaders and practitioners to discuss biosafety and biosecurity challenges presented by SARS, influenza and other major epidemic threats, as well as efforts needed to improve international cooperation prior to and during future epidemics. (Available online: summaries written by Center staff and speaker slides.)
| January 14, 2005 Atlantic Storm simulated a bioterrorist attack on the nations of the transatlantic community. During this "table-top" exercise, former prime ministers and other senior government officials from the transatlantic community played the roles of the heads of government of their respective nations. (Available online: background information, conference materials, and the after-action report.)
| February 3-4, 2003 The purpose of this event was to synthesize for government and public health authorities the essential principles of leadership, based on frontline experiences with recent terrorism events and other relevant crises, that encourage the public's constructive collaboration in confronting a bioterrorist attack. (Available online: transcripts and audio recordings of talks.)
| June 22-23, 2001 The Dark Winter exercise portrayed a fictional scenario depicting a covert smallpox attack on U.S. citizens. The scenario is set in three successive National Security Council (NSC) meetings which take place over 2 weeks. Former senior government officials played the roles of NSC members; media representatives were among the observers and played journalists during the mock press conferences. The exercise was held at Andrews Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. (Available online: background information, participant list, the Dark Winter script, briefing materials, and several articles.)
| November 28-29, 2000 After introducing the subject of bioterrorism at the first symposium, the second symposium was convened to consider actions that might be taken by national leaders to diminish the risk of bioterrorism and/or to lessen the suffering such weapons would inflict upon civilian populations. Senator Edward M. Kennedy delivered the closing address. (Available online: transcripts and audio recordings of talks.)
| February 16-17, 1999 The National Symposium on Medical and Public Health Response to Bioterrorism was the watershed event in raising awareness among medical and public health practitioners about their critical roles in bioterrorism response. (Available online: audio recordings of talks.) |
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