Media

August 7, 2006

News Release

Contact:
Stephanie Tennyson
703-525-0770
stennyson@potomacinstitute.org
/www.PotomacInstitute.org

Arlington, VA—On July 30, 2006, Purdue University Press released a new volume entitled, Advances in Homeland Security: The Science of Homeland Security. The reviewed book series and this volume, edited by Sandra F. Amass, et al., are intended to be a resource for the scientific community as well as government leaders and managers. The objective of the volume is “to begin to provide a scientifically sound basis for all homeland security efforts,” which the lead editor found lacking while researching biosecurity protocols for the livestock industry. Purdue University’s Institute for Homeland Security issued a call for papers to contribute to the volume and an Institute paper was one of eight selected.

The Potomac Institute’s Senior Research Fellow and Director of Biodefense for the Institute’s National Security Health Policy Center, Dr. David Siegrist, authored a chapter on “Medical Surveillance: State of the Art and Agenda for Future Research.” Dr. Siegrist commented, “I was very excited when I read the call for chapters put out by Purdue University’s Homeland Security Institute. I agreed with the editors that science and technology should be leveraged to increase security without trampling civil liberties.  I was very familiar with a particular example of that, syndromic surveillance, where advanced statistical techniques can be harnessed to provide reliable early warning of outbreaks of disease in the shifting high background of flu-like symptoms.”

Dr. Siegrist was “pleased to be able to contribute his chapter to the book on the state of syndromic surveillance science, and how it can help the public be better prepared for natural or deliberate outbreaks.  I hope the book makes the public aware of the possible contributions science can make to homeland security, and that syndromic surveillance can be there for them.” His chapter concludes that “medical surveillance is feasible and sustainable and can perform a useful role in a broader architecture for rapid and reliable detection of disease outbreaks.” Other chapters look at communication strategies, water infrastructure, modeling to understand risk, biosensors, biodetection, and agricultural terrorism.

To buy a copy please visit Amazon.com.

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit public policy research institute. The Institute identifies and aggressively shepherds discussion on key science and technology issues facing our society. From these discussions and forums, we develop meaningful science and technology policy options and ensure their implementation at the intersection of business and government.

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