These UCLA faculty experts are available to address issues related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
Forensic pathology:
Dr. Wayne Grody, director of the DNA Diagnostic Laboratory at UCLA Medical Center, can address obstacles that forensic pathologists face in using DNA to identify corpses.
Dr. Charles Lassman, assistant professor of pathology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, can describe various types of forensic techniques pathologists may use to identify bodies.
Psychological impact:
Dr. Heather Krell: Krell, associate clinical professor of psychiatry, is available to talk about the psychiatry of disasters and the impact of the hurricane and its aftermath on victims and rescuers.
Dr. Robert Pynoos and other doctors at the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress: Pynoos, co-director of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress and a professor at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, and other center doctors, are available to talk about the psychological effects of the hurricane and its aftermath on children.
Dr. Gary Small: Small, a UCLA psychiatrist, memory and mass hysteria expert, can discuss the role of "emotional memory" on the response to the hurricane disaster. Small's previous studies on mass hysteria have found that the media can influence the spread of anxiety and even physical symptoms of hysteria through dramatic, vivid coverage. Small also can discuss how social contagion of anxiety about disaster can influence public health and safety. In addition, he can discuss "emotional memories" and help place them in perspective through the latest strategies to improve and define memory.
Public health impact:
Rick Greenwood: Greenwood is adjunct associate professor at UCLA's School of Public Health and director of the UCLA Office of Environment, Health and Safety. An epidemiologist and microbiologist, Greenwood is available to discuss the threat and spread of infectious diseases following a disaster of this magnitude.
Dr. Steven Rottman: Rottman is board certified in emergency medicine and an adjunct professor in both the School of Public Health and the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters at UCLA's School of Public Health and is the past-president of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine.
Kimberly Shoaf: Shoaf, assistant director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters and assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health, is available to talk about the public health-related issues following the hurricane.
Engineering, structural impact:
Jon Stewart: Stewart, UCLA associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is available to talk about levees and the impact Hurricane Katrina had on the New Orleans levee system.
John Wallace: Wallace, UCLA associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is available to talk about the structural integrity of buildings in a hurricane.
Economic impact:
Christopher Thornberg: Thornberg, a senior economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast, is available to talk about the economic impact of the hurricane and its aftermath.
RSS