UCLA and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities to co-host event on crisis management and the pandemic
On Sept. 29, UCLA and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) will co-host an event on crisis management and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bringing together leaders from universities in California, China, Singapore and Australia, UCLA and the the Association of Pacific Rim Universities are co-hosting an online seminar focused on crisis management and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event, “Perspectives of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Epidemiology, Prevention and Control in Pacific Rim Region,” (which will begin at 5 pm PDT Tuesday, Sept. 29), has been organized in coordination with Peking University, National University of Singapore, and University of Sydney, and will include presenters from all four universities, addressing:
- Singapore’s response and mobilizing surge capacity
- The recent Beijing COVID-19 outbreak and China’s COVID-19 perspectives
- Risk communication and COVID-19
- How much protection do face coverings offer?
- California's and Los Angeles’ COVID-19 status and the U.S. perspectives
The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), founded in 1997 in Los Angeles, is a consortium of the presidents of 51 leading research universities from around the Pacific Rim, and includes 200,000 academic staff and 2 million students. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block chairs the Association and will welcome attendees to the event with a pre-recorded message.
UCLA Fielding School of PUblic Health Dean Ron Brookmeyer, distinguished professor of biostatistics, and Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, associate dean for research and distinguished professor of epidemiology, will serve as co-moderators of the event, with presentations from five leading scientists.
The presenters, including three Fielding School faculty members, will compare and contrast the epidemiological patterns and intervention strategies (e.g., use of face masks, risk communication, social distancing, personal hygiene, stay at home orders, contact tracing and isolating) among four countries in the Pacific Rim Region which have different patterns of COVID-19 in incidence and mortality. The panel will also summarize lessons learned, potential challenges, and opportunities for control of the pandemic.
The speakers include:
- Yik-Ying Teo, dean of Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore
- Zunyou Wu, chief epidemiologist and director, Division of HIV Prevention, NCAIDS/China CD; Dr. Wu is also an adjunct professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and an alumnus.
- Julie Leask, Sydney Nursing School and School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
- Yifang Zhu, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health associate dean for academic programs and professor of environmental health sciences
- Timothy F. Brewer, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
This event is the first collaborative webinar of APRU’s crisis management working group. A series of related presentations will follow on Sept. 30 in Singapore, Beijing, and Sydney.
For more information, see the following link.
The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, founded in 1961, is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research, training future leaders and health professionals from diverse backgrounds, translating research into policy and practice, and serving our local communities and the communities of the nation and the world. The school has 690 students from 25 nations engaged in carrying out the vision of building healthy futures in greater Los Angeles, California, the nation and the world.
Faculty Referenced by this Article

Dr. Joseph Davey is an infectious disease epidemiologist with over 20 years' experience leading research on HIV/STI services for women and children.

Robert J. Kim-Farley, MD, MPH, is a Professor-in-Residence with joint appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Community Health Sciences

Automated and accessible artificial intelligence methods and software for biomedical data science.

Robert J. Kim-Farley, MD, MPH, is a Professor-in-Residence with joint appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Community Health Sciences

Dr. Hankinson is a Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and of EHS, and Chair of the Molecular Toxicology IDP

Associate Professor for Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Health Sciences

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Dr. Joseph Davey is an infectious disease epidemiologist with over 20 years' experience leading research on HIV/STI services for women and children.

Dr. Joseph Davey is an infectious disease epidemiologist with over 20 years' experience leading research on HIV/STI services for women and children.

Robert J. Kim-Farley, MD, MPH, is a Professor-in-Residence with joint appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Community Health Sciences
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