Episode 33: Conversation With Professor Benjamin Cowling

ONLINE EVENT

On January 23, 2020, the first case of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) was confirmed in Hong Kong. Two years have passed as we witness the virus disrupting countless industries and separating families, while new variants of the pandemic continued to emerge. From alpha to omicron, what do the new variants mean for the direction of the pandemic? With the rollout of booster shots, new vaccines, and new Covid-19 treatments and drugs, how are they helping to curb the virus? Is there a need to re-evaluate our quarantine rules? How long will this global pandemic last?

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 this past two years, we have featured over 30 episodes and welcomed over 195, 367 online views for this ground breaking series. We commemorate the second anniversary of our ongoing coronavirus update series by hosting Professor Benjamin Cowling, Head of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health. ASHK inaugurated the series with Professor Cowling in February 2020 and invited him back again in February 2021 as Covid-19 hit one year mark. In this discussion, we will hear his thoughts on the past, present, and future of Covid-19. S. Alice Mong, Executive Director of Asia Society Hong Kong Center will moderate the discussion.

Professor Benjamin Cowling is the current Head of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health (HKU SPH), since 2013.He joined HKU SPH in 2004. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, Professor Cowling graduated with a PhD in medical statistics at the University of Warwick in 2003, and spent a year as a postdoc at Imperial College London. He is responsible for teaching the introductory module in epidemiology on the MPH curriculum, and is the chairman of the Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee. Professor Cowling is also co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control at HKU SPH.Professor Cowling’s primary research focus is in infectious disease epidemiology. In recent years, he has designed and implemented large field studies of influenza transmission in the community and the effectiveness and impact of control measures, including large vaccine trials. Professor Cowling's research aims to integrate information on transmission dynamics at the individual level with disease burden, severity and dynamics at the population level. His latest research has focused on the modes of respiratory virus transmission, influenza vaccination effectiveness, and the link between individual immunity and population immunity to infections. He has strong links with China CDC, and the NIGMS-funded Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. Professor Cowling is a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, an Associate Editor of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a Section Editor of PLOS ONE, and a founding editor of PLOS Currents: Outbreaks. He has 375 publications listed in Scopus, including 45 articles with 45+ citations (H-index of 45). Professor Cowling has received numerous awards including a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship (2015), HKU Outstanding Researcher Award (2017), HKU Outstanding Young Researcher Award (2011), and American Journal of Epidemiology (AJE) Article of the Year 2014. 

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.