In a live webinar hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, MyVoice researcher and University of Michigan student Xochitl Amaro joined a panel of experts to discuss campus COVID-19 testing strategies and to share MyVoicers’ experiences across the country, collected through the MyVoice national poll of youth. The title of the talk, held February 22, 2021, was “Adoption and Implementation of Campus COVID-19 Testing Strategies: Webinar.” The goal of the event was to highlight key lessons about campus COVID-19 testing programs, share additional available resources, and extend beyond scientific and technical aspects of testing to encompass how uptake of successful testing programs intersects with decisions about how to operate safely and how to manage the pandemic in campus communities.
Xochitl represented students, student researchers, and MyVoice as a whole on a stellar panel of experts, which included:
- Deborah Beck, of the COVID-19 Task Force of the American College Health Association and Chief Health Officer, Associate Vice President of Health and Well-Being at the University of South Carolina
- Juliana Terheyden, Strategic Advisor, Testing for America
- R. Christopher Mason, Department Chair and Associate Professor, Public & Allied Health Sciences, Delaware State University
- Dushanka V. Kleinman, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Associate Dean for Research and Principal Associate Dean, University of Maryland School of Public Health
- Andreas Cangellaris, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Corey Herrman, Student Leader, SHIELD Wellness Ambassador Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Awais Vaid, Director of Planning and Research, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District
I thought the webinar was a great experience to be a part of! I gained a lot of insight on how decisions are being made from higher levels about testing and other mitigation strategies on campuses which, as a student, was fascinating.
I was nervous being the only MyVoicer on the panel 😅, but I’m always happy to help spread MyVoice findings!—Xochitl
The webinar is part of the National Academies Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN), an effort developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which seeks to connect policy makers with the latest, high quality research evidence from the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. MyVoice had excellent representation from Xochitl! Great job!
Read more on MyVoice’s recent collaborations with the National Academies: