Prof. Florian Krammer: Life in a Virus Lab During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
Release Date: 07/20/2020
Empowering and Engaging the Everyday Cleaner with John LaRochelle
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
In this episode, we talk with John LaRochelle, a long-standing contributor and board member at TIPS, and President of . To gain a deeper understanding of John's impact, I turned to Michael Diamond, who succinctly framed John's journey: 'John has dedicated his career to uplifting those in the least paid positions. His advocacy and development of technologies and programs have not only enhanced environmental cleaning but also empowered and elevated the cleaners themselves.' John's life and career are fundamentally about empowering and engaging the everyday cleaner. During our discussion,...
info_outline
The Science Behind Long Lasting Surface Disinfection with Jay Denktash and Amit Sehgal
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
The cleaning industry has long been focused on the concept of contact time. But what happens between cleanings? This question grows increasingly pertinent as we navigate both labor shortages and heightened expectations of cleanliness and safety from customers, guests, and patients. A potential part of the solution lies in long-lasting disinfection technology. In this episode, we talk with Jay Denktash and Amit Sehgal from about the science underpinning long-lasting surface disinfection. This concept isn't new. Scientists have been exploring it since the late 1990s, achieving some success. The...
info_outline
Operationalizing Environmental Regulation in Healthcare w/ Shari Solomon
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we're joined by Shari Solomon, the President of , and a TIPS Advisory Council member. Shari's journey in the world of environmental policy and law began with a deep-seated interest in environmental matters. Her desire to influence and effect change led her to study law, which subsequently led her to Capitol Hill, where she dedicated her time to shaping environmental policies. During this period, Shari's fascination with Indoor Air Quality took root, specifically focusing on infection risks posed by microorganisms in the air, such as mold. Driven by the urge to have a more...
info_outline
Helping People Breathe Healthier Indoor Air with Dr. John McKeon
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
As an emergency room doctor, John McKeon often recommended allergy and asthma-friendly products to his patients. One patient’s mother, while trying to take in all the details, told him it would be so nice if someone would just put a label on these products so that she could know which ones met his specs. That single comment was enough to ignite the latent entrepreneurial tendencies that John had always had. Now, John is the CEO of , a company on a mission to help people breathe healthier indoor air. John and his team do this through science (ASL Standards), education (iAIR Academy), and...
info_outline
How To Make Engaging Online Content with Michael Justason
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we talk with Michael Justason from McMaster University and the about online communication. Specifically, we talk about how to do it better. Michael has been teaching in person and online for years and he’s learned some tricks that he says, in some ways, have made him more effective online than in person. Now this was a surprise even to him, and he’s going to explain. Overall, our goal is to share with you these tricks, plus some tools, that Michael has found along the way. We’ll cover a few basic things you can do with lighting, sound, positioning, etc. that will apply...
info_outline
A Practical Approach to Sustainability with Dan Mueller and Malachy McGlynn
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode we talk with: Dan Mueller, TIPS Advisory Board Member and Senior Vice President, N. American Sales at Kersia Malachy McGlynn, Head of Operations for Healthcare at Kersia Dan and Malachy help us to understand what sustainability really means in the business context and beyond. It’s a nuanced discussion that covers: How Kersia approaches sustainability for their own business operations What problems Kersia is trying to solve How they identified and prioritized potential solutions How they measure and report on the efficacy of their internal sustainability initiatives What...
info_outline
Cleaning Industry Trends for 2023 with CleanLink
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode we talk with: Wendy Dietzler, Senior Director of Events and Education for , which produces industry-leading events for facilities, cleaning, and freight rail industries, including the National Facilities Management & Technology Conference, CleanLink Summit, and RailTrends. Corinne Zudonyi, editor-in-chief of Contracting Profits, Sanitary Maintenance, and Facility Cleaning Decisions magazines. as well as the online resource, . Wendy and Corinne are going to break down the Cleaning Industry Trends you need to know for 2023 in areas such as: Infection control...
info_outline
Expanding the Scope of Service at the Community Pharmacy with Hector Bremner
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we talk with Hector Bremner. Hector is CEO of which is a pharmacy service innovator focused on acquiring and developing early-stage technologies aimed at moving pharmacy forward. For example, its flagship offering ™ gives community pharmacies a turn-key solution for rapid testing. The reason they’re doing this is because the scope of services being offered by pharmacies is increasing rapidly. And that’s happening because our sick-care system, where we wait for folks to develop diseases and then treat them, is becoming unsustainable. It’s too expensive, we...
info_outline
Putting a Face on Clinical Laboratory Sciences w/ Dr. Rodney Rohde
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
There is a critical shortage of Clinical Laboratory Scientists across the U.S. According to today’s guest, there’s a nationwide gap of roughly 40% and it’s creating a national healthcare crisis that the public doesn’t quite grasp. On this episode we talk with Dr. Rodney Rohde, a Regents’ Professor at Texas State University, and the University Distinguished Chair and Professor for ). Dr. Rhode helps us better understand what a Clinical Laboratory Scientist does, why they are so critical to healthcare delivery, and why it’s so important to raise awareness of the profession, as well...
info_outline
The Future of Hand Washing with Max Simonovsky
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS)
On this episode, we talk with Max Simonovsky, Founder & CEO of . Max founded Soapy after an interaction with his young child regarding handwashing. It got him thinking about how environmental triggers and our perceptions of them can impact our behaviors. He followed that thread, and it became Soapy. Soapy's hand-washing technology educates, validates, and modifies behavior. In the field, Soapy technology has been used to increase hand-wash adherence by up to 98%. Adherence paired with proper technique, which Soapy also teaches, has a chance to significantly reduce hospital-associated...
info_outlineGrowing up on a mountain range in Austria, Florian Krammer was immersed in nature from a very young age. His interest in plants and animals led him to science, and ultimately to university where he would study food science and biotechnology. His interest in food fermentation soon morphed into the pursuit of a PhD in a laboratory working on the influenza virus and flu vaccines. From there, Florian's path became clear... he wanted to work in a world-class flu lab and landed at Mount Sanai in New York City. Just 3 years later, he founded The Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sanai to study RNA viruses and continue his quest for a universal flu vaccine.
Like many of us, Florian's trajectory changed in early 2020 as the world descended into a pandemic. The Krammer Laboratory was refocused exclusively on SARS-CoV-2 to help their hospitals do battle in what would soon become a global hotspot for the outbreak. This made the Krammer Laboratory an early leader in understanding the virus and they have sent their reagents to some 250 labs around the globe.
In addition to the challenge of understanding SARS-CoV-2 itself, Prof. Krammer and his team have had to deal with social and societal fallout from the pandemic along the way. First, there's the challenge of keeping the team safe and productive while fending off the very real risk of burnout that comes with months of long hours in a high-pressure, high-stakes environment. Then there are the communication challenges of keeping the public informed without causing panic and trying to work-around the vast amounts of misinformation that can easily gain steam in our connected world. The situation is endlessly challenging, and it requires a broad set of skills to navigate successfully.
In this interview, Prof. Krammer shares what he's learned along the way, and offers an optimistic view of the vaccine candidates that could, in time, lead us out of the pandemic. That, like the rest of the story so far, is fraught with challenges and will require a massive world-wide collaboration around manufacturing, distribution, and other logistical issues.
As we like to say at TIPS, one person can make a difference and everyone should try. Prof. Florian Krammer's path has put him in a position to make a real difference during one of the most trying times in modern history.
Links and Notes
- The Krammer Laboratory, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sanai: https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/krammerlab/
- Prof. Florian Krammer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/florian_krammer
- Learn more about The Infection Prevention Strategy at www.IC.tips
- If you liked this podcast, please consider subscribing to the series and leaving a positive review