About this virtual event:

We are living a historic moment in science. NCSSM's COVID-19 Symposium brings together prominent researchers to share their experience and perspectives on the current status of the coronavirus pandemic and the mitigating solutions created by scientists.

Join us for pre-recorded talks by some of the biggest names in science, including Dr. Francis Collins, Director of NIH; Dr. Cindy Gay, Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Director at UNC Chapel Hill; Dr. Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals; and Dr. Machelle Sanders, former pharmaceutical executive and currently Secretary of the NC Department of Commerce; as well as a panel of scientists, including Dr. Kizzy Corbett (NIH NIAID Vaccine Research Center), Dr. Alex Tropsha (UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy), Dr. Martin Fischer (Duke University), and Dr. Jackie Olich (RTI International).

Audience members will learn about:

• the national effort to create a vaccine in record time

• how to assess the effectiveness of masks

• how computational techniques can help us design drugs

• the challenge of running a clinical trial that is equitable, and

• the obstacles to distribution of the vaccine.