Matt Hepburn
3 building blocks for pandemic prevention that inspire optimism
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About Matt Hepburn
After retiring from 23 years of service in the United States Army as an infectious diseases physician, Matt Hepburn currently leads an effort for the Department of Defense called Enabling Technologies. Enabling Technologies rapidly develops new vaccines and treatments against future infectious disease challenges. Having dedicated his professional career to addressing the threat of infectious diseases and pandemics, Matt believes this ambitious goal can be accomplished through technology adoption. His deep level understanding for technology adoption for pandemics stems from his six year tenure as a program manager at DARPA. Prior to joining DARPA, Matt served as the Director of Medical Preparedness on the White House National Security Staff. His service in the Army included deployments to Iraq as a hospital Chief Medical Officer and numerous international engagements in establishing public health and clinical research partnerships.
Find out moreAbout This Talk
In his TEDMED 2020 Talk, Pandemic Prevention Expert, Matt Hepburn, paints a realistic but hopeful picture of the COVID-19 outbreak and broader pandemic landscape. As he says, “The pandemic is here and this is serious…This is a very complex problem as everybody knows, there’s public health, there’s medicine, there’s quarantine, there’s social distancing, there’s wash your hands…but there are three strategic building blocks that I think will make a huge difference.”
Watch Matt’s Talk "3 building blocks for pandemic prevention that inspire optimism” to learn how the strategic building blocks—advanced technology, global cooperation, and political will—are at the heart of containing the current pandemic, and at the root of stopping a future pandemic before it starts.
The views and opinions contained in the following presentation by Dr. Matthew Hepburn, including any follow-up comments he may make in regards to the same, are those of Dr. Hepburn's and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense or its components, including the U.S. Army. Nothing contained within the speech attributed to Dr. Hepburn is to be used to endorse or advertise a non-Federal entity's products, services, and/or events.