On January 30, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) that originated in Wuhan, China. Healthcare experts have warned that COVID-19 could rapidly spread, if not properly contained, and many governments around the world have begun to take precautionary measures to ensure public health safety. Amid the international concern and heightened fears about the disease, what is fact and what is fiction? The Asia Society Hong Kong Center brings you regular updates on the coronavirus story in Hong Kong that has reverberations elsewhere in the world. We are pleased to present on-the-ground public health experts and internationally renowned specialists with the latest facts and evidence-based findings regarding this epidemic outbreak. In episode 10, hear from Dr. Jessica E. Manning, MD MSc, Science Attaché, US Embassy Phnom Penh, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. S. Alice Mong, Executive Director of Asia Society Hong Kong Center will moderate the discussion.

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Jessica E. Manning, MD MSc, Science Attaché, US Embassy Phnom Penh, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

Jessica Manning is an infectious diseases physician-scientist with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since 2008, Dr. Manning has lived and worked in Africa and Southeast Asia with a research focus on mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and malaria.  Since 2017, she has lead NIAID’s clinical and translational research efforts aimed at better understanding vector-borne diseases in Southeast Asia. In today’s world where many mosquito-borne diseases are responsible for unexpected and explosive outbreaks, Dr. Manning’s team uses new technologies like next generation sequencing as well as innovative approaches, like developing vaccines targeting the mosquito itself, to curb future epidemics.   Currently, she serves as Science Attaché at the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where she also runs the NIAID’s International Center of Excellence in Research, a collaborative laboratory, field sites, and clinical trials with the Cambodian Ministry of Health.