Navigating Scientific Challenges
Bringing Expert Knowledge and Advice through Magellan Series
Thank you for interest in our Magellan Webinar Series: Confronting COVID-19. The purpose of this webinar series is to offer our clients and partners an inside view of the current COVID-19 landscape and to provide direct access to our scientists for open discussion in a small group environment. Below are the video recordings of the sessions and the PDFs of the presentations.
To sign up for future webinars, please click here.
SESSION 1: OVERVIEW – Current COVID-19 situation
Gene Olinger, Ph.D., MBA, Principal Science Advisor, MRIGlobal
presentation coming soon
SESSION 2: Bringing Lab-grade Biosafety to Businesses and Schools
Lolly R. Gardiner, MBA, RBP, SM (NRCM), CBSP
Program Manager, Biosafety & Biosecurity
Session 3: COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing – Successes, Challenges, and the Future
Joseph Bogan, Jr., Ph.D., Division Director
Gene Olinger, Ph.D., MBA, Principal Advisor at MRIGlobal
SESSION 4: Test and Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapeutics and Vaccines
H. Carl Gelhaus, Ph.D, DVM, Senior Scientist
Carl Gelhaus is a Senior Program Manager at MRIGlobal with oversight for project team efforts, directing laboratory operations and compliance with security and safety regulations per SOP policies.
Dr Gelhaus has involvement in a wide array of infectious disease programs at MRIGlobal. Dr. Gelhaus has 15 years of experience in infectious disease, with emphasis on bioweapons, bioterror threats, and emerging infectious diseases. Gelhaus’ specialties include immunology in a diverse range of topics; animal models of disease; handling bacterial select agents under BSL-3 and ABSL-3 conditions; transplantation, diabetes, and Good Laboratory Practices. Gelhaus earned his Ph.D., in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado.
Luca Popescu, Ph.D, DVM, is a Senior Scientist at MRIGlobal with specialties in virus culture and propagation; viral neutralization assays; development of animal models; veterinary care for research animals as well as developing scientific manuscripts and proposals. He provides scientific and technical oversight to staff and study directors involved in infectious disease research, and assists in pharmacodynamics/pharmacokinetics studies providing veterinary insight on pathologic lesions and interpreting animal morbidity/mortality. Dr. Popescu is experienced in working with viral and bacterial pathogens, with an emphasis on BSL3 pathogens. He holds a Ph.D. in pathobiology and a doctor of veterinary medicine from Kansas State University.
SESSION 5: Pathway to EUA and 510(k) for COVID-19 Diagnostic Assays
Kristine Werking, PMP, Associate Division Director of Global Health Surveillance and Diagnostics
Michaela Ross Hoffmeyer, MA, Senior Science Advisor
SESSION 6: Mobile Labs: Projecting Science to the Front Line
Joe Russell, Ph.D., Senior Scientist
Joe is experienced in enabling metagenomics-based solutions in clinical diagnostics, biosurveillance, and forensic applications. His work includes use of emerging hand-held molecular hardware and development of integrated mobile platforms to push genomics and metagenomics into the field, at the point-of-need. His technical skills involve researching and developing new bioinformatics solutions for the use of genomics-based information in the clinical, epidemiological, biosurveillance, forensics, and public health space. Dr. Russell holds a Ph.D. in Geomicrobiology from the University of Delaware. He has logged over four months at sea on various oceanographic research vessels, studying subseafloor microbial ecology, in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He has led several field deployments of experimental arbovirus surveillance in the Southeastern United States, and he is a co-inventor and lead developer of MRIGlobal’s ultra-portable laboratory platform, Mercury Lab.
Chris Hollars, Ph.D., Associate Director of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
With nearly 20 years of experience in research science and project management, he oversees programs, technical staff, operations and business development primarily for government clients. His experience includes overseeing the engineering, deployment and staffing of MRIGlobal’s suite of mobile laboratory solutions essential to diagnosing infectious diseases and detecting and responding to biological threats around the globe. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and Ph.D. degree in analytical chemistry, has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, and holds two patents.
Peter Anderson, Senior Engineer
Peter’s specialty areas are leading complex technical programs and project management; mechanical systems design and drafting, rapid prototype fabrication and electromechanical system design and testing, requirements verification, design and evaluation of electrostatic precipitators for aerosol collection, and 3-D modeling, drafting, animation and rendering. A recognized expert in innovative and efficient systems design, Anderson played a lead role in developing containerized biocontainment solutions for the Department of State and the Department of Defense. Early and updated versions have been deployed for the safe transport of infected individuals from disease outbreak areas to locations where they can receive appropriate care, most recently during the COVID-19 crisis.