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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250911T110000
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UID:60891-1757588400-1757592000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Preparing for reporting on autism\, vaccines and related science
DESCRIPTION:Join moderator Tara Haelle and an expert panel — including Paul Offit\, M.D. (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)\, and Jessica B. Steier\, DrPH\, PMP (Founder and CEO of Unbiased Science) — for a webinar that will help reporters navigate the science behind autism\, vaccines\, and the expected Health and Human Services report on autism causes. \n\n\n\nFacilitated by: Jesse Goodman\, M.D.\, MPH\, Chair of the E-VAT — Expert Vaccine Analysis Team. \n\n\n\nDon’t miss this opportunity to get the context and insights you need to report accurately and confidently. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases & Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education CenterMaurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology\, University of PennsylvaniaPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\, is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine\, RotaTeq\, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165\,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science\, medicine\, and vaccines.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJessica Steier\, DrPH\, PMP\n\n\n\nFounder and CEO\, Unbiased ScienceAn accomplished public health expert specializing in science communication\, Dr. Jessica Steier is committed to providing clients — and the general public — with accurate\, unbiased\, and methodologically sound information. Through her podcast and other public avenues\, she strives to connect citizens with accurate evidence about the forces that affect all of our lives. \n\n\n\nWhile working in both the private sector and academia\, she has built a career founded on providing data-driven solutions in real-world environments and communicating the importance of “old school” scientific values in contemporary education and public discourse. At her professional core\, Steier is dedicated to rigorous scientific inquiry and bettering the health and welfare of communities. \n\n\n\nShe is the CEO of Vital Statistics Consulting (VSC)\, which specializes in health program and policy evaluation using data science and advanced analytics. With a team of expert consultants\, VSC helps its clients improve healthcare outcomes while managing the cost challenges of this demanding sector. \n\n\n\nSteier is also the founder of “Unbiased Science.” It underpins a diverse social media platform dedicated to translating complex scientific concepts into everyday language. The essence of this endeavor is pushing back against the wave of pseudoscience and misinformation that the Internet and other social forces have recently unleashed. Its motto — “No Nonsense\, Just Science” — is meant to capture Steier’s direct and impassioned approach to disseminating technical knowledge in our technologically-driven culture. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFacilitator\n\n\n\n\nJesse L. Goodman\, M.D.\, M.P.H.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Georgetown University COMPASSProfessor of medicine and infectious diseasesChair\, Expert Vaccine Analysis Team (E-VAT)Jesse L. Goodman\, M.D.\, MPH is Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Attending Physician at Georgetown University. He was previously Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota where his laboratory isolated the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis.  \n\n\n\nFrom 2003-2009\, he served as Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)\, regulating vaccines\, blood and cell and gene therapies\, and then as Chief Scientist of the U.S. FDA until 2014\, serving in U.S. leadership for numerous public health responses. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served on numerous WHO\, CDC\, NIH\, NAM and other advisory committees and previously served as a member of GSK’s board\, chairing its science committee.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/preparing-for-reporting-on-autism-vaccines-and-related-science/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250916T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250916T150000
DTSTAMP:20260412T032106
CREATED:20250908T211125Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250908T211132Z
UID:60951-1758031200-1758034800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:AI chatbots and mental health: How to report responsibly on a new risk
DESCRIPTION:Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots can provide round-the-clock access to supportive “conversations\,” which some people are using as a substitute for interactions with licensed mental health clinicians or friends. But users may develop dependencies on the tools and mistake these transactions for real relationships with people or true therapy. Recent news stories have discussed the dangers of chatbots’ fabricated\, supportive nature. In some incidents\, people developed AI-related psychosis or were supported in their plans to commit suicide. \n\n\n\nWhat is it about this technology that sucks people in? Who is at risk? How can you report on these conditions sensitively? Join moderator Karen Blum and an expert panel\, including psychiatrists John Torous\, M.D. (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center); Keith Sakata\, M.D. (UC San Francisco)\, and Mashable Senior Reporter Rebecca Ruiz\, to learn more. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nKaren Blum\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Health ITKaren Blum is AHCJ’s health beat leader for health IT. She’s an independent health and science journalist\, based in the Baltimore area. She has written for publications such as the Baltimore Sun\, Pharmacy Practice News\, Clinical Oncology News\, Clinical Laboratory News\, Cancer Today\, CURE\, AARP.org\, General Surgery News and Infectious Disease Special Edition; covered numerous medical conferences for trade magazines and news services; and written many profiles and articles on medical and science research as well as trends in health care and health IT. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and chairs its Virtual Education Committee; and a member of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) and its freelance committee. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRebecca Ruiz\n\n\n\nSenior reporter\, MashableRebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health\, digital culture\, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention\, screen use and mental health\, parenting\, youth well-being\, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca’s experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer\, reporter\, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKeith Sakata\, M.D.\n\n\n\nPsychiatry resident\, UC San FranciscoKeith Sakata\, M.D.\, is a psychiatry resident at the University of California\, San Francisco\, where he founded the Mental Health Innovation and Digital Hub (MINDHub) to advance AI-enabled care delivery. He provides treatment and psychotherapy across outpatient and specialty clinics\, with a focus on dual diagnosis\, PTSD\, OCD\, pain\, and addiction.  \n\n\n\nDr. Sakata previously trained in internal medicine at Stanford Health Care and co-founded Skript\, a diagnostic training platform adopted by UCSF and Stanford that improved medical education outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. He currently serves as Clinical Lead at Sunflower\, an addiction recovery startup. He also helps and advises startups working to improve access in mental health: including Two Chairs\, and Circuit Breaker Labs\, which is providing a safety layer for AI tools in mental health care.  \n\n\n\nHis professional interests bridge psychiatry\, neuroscience\, and digital innovation. Dr. Sakata holds a B.S. in Neurobiology from UC Irvine and earned his M.D. from UCSF. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJohn Torous\, M.D.\, MBI\n\n\n\nDirector\, Digital Psychiatry\, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterJohn Torous\, M.D.\, MBI\, is director of the digital psychiatry division in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)\, a Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospital\, where he also serves as a staff psychiatrist and associate professor. He has a background in electrical engineering and computer sciences and received an undergraduate degree in the field from UC Berkeley before attending medical school at UC San Diego. He completed his psychiatry residency\, fellowship in clinical informatics and master’s degree in biomedical informatics at Harvard.  \n\n\n\nTorous is active in investigating the potential of mobile mental health technologies for psychiatry and his team supports mindapps.org as the largest database of mental health apps\, the mindLAMP technology platform for scalable digital phenotyping and intervention\, and the Digital Navigator program to promote digital equity and access. Torous has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and five book chapters on the topic. He directs the Digital Psychiatry Clinic at BIDMC\, which seeks to improve access to and quality of mental health care through augmenting treatment with digital innovations.  \n\n\n\nTorous serves as editor-in-chief for the journal JMIR Mental Health\, web editor for JAMA Psychiatry\, and a member of various American Psychiatric Association committees.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/ai-chatbots-and-mental-health-how-to-report-responsibly-on-a-new-risk/
CATEGORIES:Health IT,Webinar
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