Unknown Biothreat Table-top Exercise

Welcome to this biothreat exercise, which is designed for stakeholders from different response perspectives such as health, defence, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, foreign affairs or emergency management.  A background in health is not required, and we encourage participants who work in any first responder sector in operational or policy roles to do the exercise.

This exercise will take you through a biothreat scenario in three parts, and is designed to be run with no background briefing or information. The exercise tests responses and decision making during an unfolding epidemic of unknown cause from different perspectives and allows real-time decision making. We use modelling and simulation to show the impact of decision making on the epidemic. This exercise is designed to help identify gaps, vulnerabilities and weaknesses in responses at local, national and global levels.  It also encourages you to think about collaborative solutions across countries and across different sectors. The exercise has been run live in several settings in different countries and has had excellent engagement and feedback. 

Cost: USD $750

Approximate time required to complete the exercise:  The three part exercise can be completed in less than 4 hours.  If you do not have 3-4 hours in one block, you can take up to 4 weeks to complete the course. After 4 weeks the material will no longer be available.

Your faculty:

Professor Raina MacIntyre  

Professor MacIntyre is Head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity, UNSW Medicine and NHMRC Principal Research Fellow. She is an adjunct professor at Arizona State University. She is an internationally recognised and awarded researcher in infectious diseases, PPE, vaccines and biosecurity with over 370 peer-reviewed publications. She has won international and national awards including the Sir Henry Wellcome Medal and Prize from the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, The National Immunisation Achievement Award from The Public Health Association of Australia, The Frank Fenner Award, the CAPHIA Research Team Prize and has been a finalist in the Eureka Prizes. Her research program spans epidemiology, vaccinology, and biosecurity. Her research is underpinned by extensive clinical research experience, including the largest body of randomized controlled clinical trials on respirators and masks internationally. She has a Masters and PhD in Epidemiology. She has dual medical specialisations in internal medicine and public health & leads an NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Epidemic Response, and previously led a CRE in vaccinology. She is also on editorial boards for Vaccine, Epidemiology & Infection and BMJ Open.

 

Associate Professor David Heslop

Associate Professor David Heslop is a clinically active GP, Occupational Physician and Military Doctor. He has deployed a wide variety of military and humanitarian assistance environments, and has deep knowledge and skills in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) Medicine. He was Senior Medical Officer for Special Operations Command, the Officer Commanding and Senior Medical Officer to the ADF CBRNE medical incident response team, now providing specialist advice and support to senior military and industry partners. Since 2016 he has worked as a full time Associate Professor at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, with a key focus on developing collaborative research opportunities between military and industry.

 

You must purchase the exercise first to access it
For inquiries, contact Info@epiwatch.org