Press Release

Conference Provides Perspectives on Informatics in Biodefense Preparedness

The Informatics Institute and Center for BioDefense of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) are hosting a conference--The Crucial Role of Informatics in BioDefense and Counter-Terrorism--on Wednesday, May 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

The purpose of the conference is to present an overview of the progress that has been made in New Jersey in preparedness for handling a bioterrorist attack involving biological, chemical and nuclear agents. The speakers are from academia, the private sector, government, law enforcement and the military. The agenda is:

9:20 a.m.: Dr. Leonard Cole, Rutgers University: The Anthrax Attacks

10:10 a.m. David Gruber, assistant commissioner of health emergency preparedness and response, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services: Developing a Statewide Emergency Healthcare System.

11 a.m. Dr. Joseph Wilder, Rutgers University: Radiation Bomb Detection Through Signal Analysis and Pattern Recognition.

11:20 a.m. Dr. Andrea Ghetie, Applied Research Telecordia Technologies: Dynamic Network Quality of Service for Mission Critical Imaging Applications During Disaster Recovery

11:40 a.m. Major General (ret.) George Garrett, director of homeland security for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: Current Issues in Homeland Security

1:30 p.m. FBI Special Agent Scott Nawrocki: HAZMET Response Scenarios

1:50 p.m. George Laskaris, executive director of NJEdge.Net: "Networks Under Stress: Strategies for Coping with Increasing Security Threats of Networked Resources

2:20 p.m. Dr. Nancy Connell, director of the UMDNJ Center for BioDefense

###

###