The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Carnival Corporation and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. on Wednesday announced the "2021 Global Scientific Summit on COVID-19." Open to the public, this free live virtual forum is slated from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, April 15, 2021.
The scientific summit will bring together top global scientists and health experts to discuss the latest discoveries, evidence-based insights and best practices for living in a world with COVID-19. This summit will build on a similar forum hosted last year by WTTC and Carnival Corporation. This year’s event will continue those discussions and focus on a global and industry-wide understanding of COVID-19’s impact on society, including how to safely live in a world with COVID-19. The event is designed for global tourism leaders, WTTC Members, government agencies, destination partners, trade partners, private businesses, media and others.
Fact-based discussions will reveal the most up-to-date science amassed from the past year of studying COVID-19, including how best to address ongoing questions about how the virus will affect society, travel and day-to-day activities moving forward. The summit will share the latest thinking on epidemiology, screening, testing and tracing, therapeutics, vaccines, practical prevention and mitigation practices and more.
"We are privileged to once again host a panel of esteemed experts who each offer valuable insight on how best to apply the latest science and medical evidence to address the many practical questions people have about living in a world with COVID-19,” said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO, WTTC, in a press announcement.
“As leaders and global citizens alike, we seek the best and latest information from experts on how we can best move forward and turn the corner on this crisis," she added.
"We are grateful to the highly regarded experts who have agreed to participate in our 2021 Global Scientific Summit on COVID-19—and to share with us what they’ve learned at the frontlines of the COVID-19 battle," said Arnold Donald, president and CEO, Carnival Corporation. “Their insights will be incredibly helpful as businesses and governments alike seek to better understand COVID-19's impact on society, and together we can determine safe and workable evidence-based practices for mitigating and living with the virus."
In addition to co-hosting this year’s event, Carnival Corporation worked closely with WTTC leadership to design and produce the first "Global Scientific Summit" in July 2020. Donald, who is both a member of the WTTC executive committee and that organization's North America vice chair, also expressed appreciation to Hilton for joining this year's summit as a supporting sponsor.
During the upcoming virtual summit, panelists will share their learnings from intensive year of focused efforts to understand COVID-19. Renowned medical, epidemiological and public health experts will explore and share the most recent findings and daily practices to curb the spread of COVID-19 in a post-pandemic future.
The current roster of panelists includes:
- Dr. Michael Diamond, M.D., Ph.D., the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine at Washington University. Dr. Diamond is recognized internationally for his work involving Zika, West Nile, chikungunya, and related emerging viruses.
- Dr. Steven Gordon, M.D., chairman, Department of Infectious Disease, Cleveland Clinic, Respiratory Institute and professor of medicine, the Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western University. Dr. Gordon has been focused on hospital infection prevention, including device-associated and opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients.
- Dr. Michael Lin, M.D., Ph.D. is associate professor of neurobiology, bioengineering, and chemical and systems biology at Stanford University. A NIH Pioneer Award recipient, Dr. Lin develops protein-based tools for molecular imaging and control of gene and viral therapy.
- Dr. William Morice, II, M.D., Ph.D., chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, president, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, and professor of laboratory medicine and pathology. Dr. Morice is an expert in diagnostic testing serving in leadership roles for numerous boards and partnerships to enhance understanding of clinical diagnostics and test utilization.
- Dr. Jewel Mullen, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for Health Equity, University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School. Dr. Mullen is an internist, epidemiologist and public health physician leader and the former principal deputy assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- Dr. Emil Christian Reisinger, director of the Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Rostock, dean of the university and member of the board of the University Hospital Rostock.
- Dr. Clare Rock, M.D., M.S., is associate professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Armstrong Institute of Patient Safety and Quality Core Faculty, and healthcare epidemiologist, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Rock is an infectious disease academic physician and her company, Infection Prevention Strategy Consulting, outlines and explains healthcare infection prevention strategies to the business, travel & hospitality, and event management industries.
- Dr. Stefano Vella, M.D., adjunct professor of global health at the Catholic University of Rome and a member of the program committee of Horizon Europe - Health Cluster, the research program of the European Commission. Dr. Vella specializes in infectious diseases and internal medicine and is a researcher in pathogenesis and therapy of viral infections. Specific research has been conducted by Dr. Vella on major pandemics, including on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis.
Registration Details
The free-to-attend summit is scheduled on Thursday, April 15, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., EDT. Organizers recommend that people register in advance. Participants may submit questions in advance. For more information, including the current list of panelists, and to register to attend the virtual event, visit www.covidsciencesummit.com.
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