U of M Professor Appointed to World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Pandemics

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Nov. 11, 2008) – Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) and professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, has been appointed to the Pandemics Global Agenda Council, an initiative of the World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan, or national interests.

“The fact that the World Economic Forum is taking on the issue of pandemic influenza preparedness in such a manner confirms that it is a critical international public and private sector need,” said Osterholm. “It’s not a question of if there will be another influenza pandemic, but rather when will it begin and how bad will it be? I look forward to using our work at CIDRAP to help support international pandemic preparedness.”

The Pandemics Global Agenda Council was created to address preparedness for the next pandemic on a global level. Osterholm joins 13 international pandemic preparedness experts from academia, business, and government sectors who will collaborate to create a central, global authority on the issue.

The potential global repercussions of a pandemic outbreak prompted governments to request the establishment of an international body to prepare and respond to these challenges. An emerging influenza virus is likely to have implications far beyond the health sector, thereby necessitating a cross-disciplined, cross-cultural body to counter prevailing assumptions, close knowledge gaps, map interrelationships and communications networks, monitor relevant trends, devise strategies that will lead to global solutions, and respond quickly and forcefully in the event of a crisis.

Osterholm is director CIDRAP, director of the National Institutes Health-supported Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance within CIDRAP, a professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, University of Minnesota.

To address the most pressing issues on the global agenda, the World Economic Forum created councils to advance knowledge and jointly explore solutions to these key issues. The Pandemics Global Agenda Council will meet four times throughout the next year, including its first large group meeting at the Dubai Summit on the Global Agenda in November 2008, 

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

Contact:         
Jenna Langer, Academic Health Center, lang0712@umn.edu or 612-626-4784
Molly Portz, Academic Health Center, mportz@umn.edu or 612-625-2640