OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center is hosting a series of online Science Café talks that focus on the coronavirus pandemic that will run every Thursday evening in February 2021. (Getty Images)

CALENDAR ALERT

WHAT:

Learn about the science of the coronavirus pandemic, through a series of Science Café talks hosted by Oregon Health & Science University’s Oregon National Primate Research Center.

OHSU organizes two informal public discussions about science each year to share noteworthy research efforts involving OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center. OHSU’s Science Cafés are being held virtually during the coronavirus pandemic.

WHEN:

6 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, Feb. 4 to 25:

Christina Lancioni, M.D.

• Feb. 4: “Vaccines 101: A Vaccine Primer”
  • Christina Lancioni, M.D., will discuss how vaccines work, the various types of vaccines and what they can (and can’t) do.
  • Lancioni is an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases in the OHSU School of Medicine who also runs a research lab at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
     

• Feb. 11: “How Safe Are Vaccines?”
  

  Mark Slifka, Ph.D. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)
  • Mark Slifka, Ph.D., will answer vaccine-related questions and address vaccine fears in this question-and-answer session with attendees.
  • Slifka is a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine and a senior scientist in the neuroscience division of OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center.
     

• Feb. 18: “How did we get here?”
  

  Daniel Streblow, Ph.D.
  • Daniel Streblow, Ph.D., will discuss how the novel coronavirus led to a global pandemic and what researchers still need to learn about the virus.
  • Streblow is a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine and a senior scientist at the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute.
     

• Feb. 25: “Outlook for the Future”
  

  Okoye Afam, Ph.D.
  • Afam Okoye, Ph.D., will discuss how long the pandemic might last, how herd immunity will play a role in returning to “normal” activities, which behaviors should continue after the pandemic and more.
  • Okoye is an associate professor at the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute and an associate scientist at OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center.
     

WHERE:

All Science Café talks will be live-streamed online.

DETAILS:

Each hour-long talk features a presentation by an OHSU expert. Viewers are asked to register and submit questions in advance by sending an email to onprcoutreach@ohsu.edu.