Health Equity and COVID-19, Journey to Discovering Hepatitis C Among Key Topics on New Season of CDC Foundation's Contagious Conversations Podcast

Episodes include conversations with Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Harvey Alter, Health Equity Expert Dr. Lauren Smith and National Advocate for Patient Safety Dr. Evelyn McKnight

News provided by

CDC Foundation

Jan 14, 2021, 11:12 ET

ATLANTA, Jan. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- How can everyone have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible? What was it like to discover hepatitis C and win the Nobel Prize in Medicine? How can we protect ourselves from unsafe injection practices? These are some of the topics discussed in Season 6 of the CDC Foundation's podcast, Contagious Conversations released today.

The sixth season of Contagious Conversations features three fascinating and informative conversations with experts who are sharing their perspectives on some of the world's toughest health challenges, including tackling the barriers to health equity and systemic racism during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing unsafe injection practices and advocating for patient safety, and exploring the discovery of hepatitis C.

"This season's stories showcase courage, drive and dedication to ensure a safer, more equitable world," said Judy Monroe, MD, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. "These conversations provide new perspectives and a more in-depth understanding of important health challenges."

New Contagious Conversations episodes include:

Episode 17: A Nobel Prize-Winning Career
The Journey to Discover the Hepatitis C Virus with Dr. Harvey Alter

Dr. Harvey Alter, 2015 Fries Prize for Improving Health recipient, shares the story of his 50-plus year career and how his research led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. He also shares how he learned he was a winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

"You know you don't start out saying, 'I want to discover a new virus,' or 'I want to cure the world of hepatitis C,' which we didn't even know existed at the time."

- podcast comments from Dr. Harvey Alter, senior scholar, National Institutes of Health

Episode 18: Thriving and Resilient Communities
Driving Strategic Efforts to Advance Health Equity with Dr. Lauren Smith

Dr. Lauren Smith discusses her new role as chief health equity and strategy officer at the CDC Foundation. Dr. Smith also shares her perspective on the importance of health equity, systemic racism and its impact on the ability for disproportionally impacted populations to be resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think the basic premise of health equity is really pretty straight forward, which is that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible."

- podcast comments from Dr. Lauren Smith, chief health equity and strategy officer,
CDC Foundation

Episode 19: A Fighter for Patient Safety
Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices with Dr. Evelyn McKnight

When Dr. Evelyn McKnight was battling breast cancer in 2002, the last thing on her mind was hepatitis C. So when she and her husband Thomas learned she had contracted the virus from unsafe injection practices during her treatment, they were shocked. Dr. McKnight shares how she turned personal tragedy into a crusade to save lives.

"We need to be empowered, and we need to be an engaged member of our healthcare team. We're partners, all of us on that team are partners and every voice is important. We know that good communication prevents errors and saves lives."

- podcast comments from Dr. Evelyn McKnight, national patient safety advocate

To listen to Contagious Conversations, subscribe or download on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcasting app. For more information, visit www.cdcfoundation.org/conversations.

About the CDC Foundation
The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC's critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $1 billion and launched more than 1,000 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of CDC-led programs in the United States and in more than 140 countries last year. Visit www.cdcfoundation.org for more information. Follow the Foundation on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

SOURCE CDC Foundation