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Conference on Terror and Disaster Response, Jan. 10 & 11

Jan 7, 2008

Brooklyn, NY - How prepared is New York for another terrorist attack or major disaster? Protect New York, an organization founded at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in 2006, will explore that question at a two-day conference addressing ways to safeguard New York City and New York State. The meeting will take place Thursday and Friday, Jan. 10 and 11, at the Levin Institute of the State University of New York, 116-120 East 55th Street in Manhattan.

"The biggest threats to New York City today are terrorism, pandemic flu, and coastal surge from an off-shore hurricane," says conference organizer Ernest Sternberg, president of Protect New York and professor of urban and regional planning in the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. "The conference will highlight advances in protection and response for these scenarios and other potential disasters in New York City and throughout the state," explains Professor Sternberg, who studies decision making during a crisis.

Among those available for interviews are Dr. Bonnie Arquilla, who will lead a discussion on medical surge capacity during a disaster response; Dr. Kathleen Powderly, who will discuss ethical and legal issues surrounding disaster response; Dr. Rajesh Mittal, who will lead a panel on radiation emergencies; organizer Dr. Ernest Sternberg; and other presenters.

More than 50 researchers, many from State University of New York and private New York State colleges and universities, will present their research. Experts and representatives from the FBI, Office of Homeland Security, Association of Fire Chiefs and the state Department of Transportation, among others, also will participate.

The conference is organized by Protect New York and sponsored by the New York State Office of Homeland Security and MCEER, headquartered at SUNY Buffalo.

Members of the media interested in attending the conference should contact Maria Andia at the Levin Institute: 212-317-3507 or maria.andia@levininstitute.org; Ron Najman at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: 718-270-2696 or ron.najman@downstate.edu; or John DellaContrada at the University at Buffalo at 716-361-3006 or dellacon@buffalo.edu.

Conference sessions will address a wide range of security and disaster-response topics: transportation security in New York City; border security; behavioral screening at security checkpoints; securing the state's critical infrastructure; radiation emergencies; disaster-response ethics; hospital and emergency-medicine capacity during a disaster; security technologies; emergency logistics and training for all-hazard events; and behavioral approaches to security at airports and other checkpoints, among other subjects.

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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.

UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.