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Media Tip Sheets

Syracuse University Experts: COVID-19

Monday, November 29, 2021, By Lily Datz
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CoronavirusCOVIDCOVID-19 vaccinePublic Healthpublic health mandates

For members of the media looking for experts to comment on the complex and ever-changing issues around the COVID-19 pandemic, please see the Syracuse University faculty experts listed below.

For additional media assistance, please contact:

Ellen Mbuqe, Director of News and Public Relations   |   ejmbuqe@syr.edu
Keith Kobland, Media Relations Manager   |   kkobland@syr.edu
Daryl Lovell, Media Relations Manager   |   dalovell@syr.edu

Public Health

Brittany Kmush   |   blkmush@syr.edu
Brittany Kmush is an assistant professor of public health in Falk College. Kmush’s specialties include epidemiology, immunology and vaccines, and infectious diseases. Her expertise is particularly well suited for information related to the vaccine and subsequent booster shots. 

    • Expert Available to Discuss COVID-19 Vaccine for Children (SU News Pitch)
    • Lack of Data Available To Determine Booster Shot Efficacy (Politico)
    • How long will it take to reach full COVID-19 protection? (CNY Central)
    • From vaccines to safe socialization: Here’s what to expect in 2021, according to experts (CNBC)

David Larsen   |   dalarsen@syr.edu
David Larsen is an associate professor of public health in Falk College. Larsen’s expertise includes global health, large data analysis and spatial statistics, and sanitation. During the 2020-2021 academic year, Larsen helped lead Syracuse University’s wastewater surveillance program to monitor COVID-19 on campus. 

    • Syracuse University Experts on Vaccine Hesitancy (SU News Pitch)
    • Covid still a threat in CNY, but as one expert says: ‘The worst is behind us’ (Syracuse.com)
    • COVID devastated New York, but here’s why it fared better in the fall surge (ABC News)
    • A Covid test that really stinks (Politico)

Brooks Gump   |   bbgump@syr.edu
Brooks Gump is the Falk Family Endowed Professor of public health in Falk College. Gump’s specialties include the effects of psychosocial factors on overall health, discrimination and health, and epidemiology. He has commented on various aspects of the pandemic’s effect on public health guidance. 

    • On Covid-19, should we be optimistic? Or pessimistic? (Or both?) (The Buffalo News)
    • Experts Predict When You Can Have Your Maskless Wedding (Elemental)
    • America is Epically Failing in Combating COVID-19 (U.S. News & World Report)

Bryce Hruska   |   bjhruska@syr.edu
Bryce Hruska is an assistant professor of public health in Falk College. Hruska’s specialties include the impacts of occupational stress and traumatic event exposure related to PTSD. He is available to comment about the effects of the pandemic on healthcare workers. 

    • Certain Recovery Activities Can Protect First Responders’ Well-Being (Relias Media)
    • Dealing With Difficult Mental Health Conditions At Work (EMS World)
    • Health Care Heroes Need a Break, Too (SU News Pitch)

COVID and Politics

Shana Kushner Gadarian   |   sgadaria@maxwell.syr.edu 
Shana Kushner Gadarian is professor and chair of political science in the Maxwell School. Gadarian’s specialties include American politics, political psychology, and public opinion. She was recently named a 2021 Carnegie Fellow for her quantitative research studying the long-term impacts of the pandemic on health behaviors and evaluations of government performance. 

    • Legal, Political, and Historical Perspectives on Biden’s COVID Vaccination Mandate (SU News Pitch)
    • Partisan politics at the root of vaccine hesitancy, according to new article (SU News Pitch)
    • How political polarization broke America’s vaccine campaign (Vox)
    • As COVID surges, Americans remain divided on the threat. What will it take to bring them together? (USA Today)

Mandates

Doron Dorfman   |   ddorfman@syr.edu
Doron Dorfman is an associate professor of law in the College of Law. Dorfman’s expertise includes anti-discrimination and equity law, disability law and policy, and public health law. His legal specialties are particularly well suited for news related to mask and vaccine mandates. 

    • 4 potential pitfalls lie ahead for OSHA’s vaccine mandate, say experts (Fortune)
    • Lawmakers Split Over COVID Vaccine Mandate for Workers (Medpage Today)
    • COVID vaccine mandates: The key question challenging United Airlines’ policy (Yahoo!Money)
    • Fact check: ADA does not provide blanket exemption from face mask requirements. (USA Today)

Mark Nevitt   |   mpnevitt@syr.edu
Mark Nevitt is an associate professor of law in the College of Law. Nevitt’s specialties include military law and national security law and policy. He is available to comment on the legality and policies surrounding COVID-19 vaccine enforcement for military members. 

    • Should the COVID-19 Vaccine Be Required for the Military? (Just Security and Slate)
    • Potential Op-Ed: Should the COVID-19 Vaccine Be Required for the Military? (SU News Pitch)

Kyla Garrett Wagner   |   kpwagner@syr.edu
Kyla Garrett Wagner is an assistant professor of communications in the Newhouse School. Garrett Wagner is an expert on the relationship between public health and the First Amendment, focusing on the impacts of health-driven media regulations on freedoms of speech. She can discuss the history of people fighting against public health mandates. 

    • Legal, Political, and Historical Perspectives on Biden’s COVID Vaccination Mandate (SU News Pitch)
    • We’ve always protested against public health mandates (SU News Pitch)

Nursing Homes and Elder Care

Nina Kohn   |   nakohn@syr.edu
Nina Kohn is the David M. Levy Professor of law and faculty director of online education in the College of Law. Kohn’s expertise lies in elder care, nursing homes, and the civil rights of older adults with diminished cognitive capacities. Kohn has frequently commented on the situation regarding COVID-19 within nursing homes. 

    • Covid Awakened Americans to a Nursing Home Crisis. Now Comes the Hard Part. (The Washington Post)
    • New York nursing homes granted legal protection, but not ‘blanket immunity’ (PolitiFact)
    • Why ‘Cuomo’s death order’ didn’t really cause New York’s nursing home carnage. A reality check. (Syracuse.com)

Pandemic’s Impact on Society

Scott Landes   |   sdlandes@syr.edu
Scott Landes is an associate professor of sociology in the Maxwell School. Landes is an expert on medical sociology and the sociology of disability. His current research focuses on the impact of the pandemic on those with physical and mental disabilities, as those with developmental disabilities are at a much higher risk for COVID-19. 

    • Workers Who Aid People With Disabilities Must Be Fully Vaccinated by Nov. 30 (LAist)
    • Relative invisibility makes for uphill battle to get COVID vaccines for Americans with IDD (PBS NewsHour)
    • People with disabilities desperately need the vaccine. But states disagree on when they’ll get it. (The Washington Post)

Shannon Monnat   |   smmonnat@syr.edu
Shannon Monnat is an associate professor of sociology and the Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion in the Maxwell School. Monnat’s expertise lies at the intersection of place, public policy and health. Most notably, Professor Monnat will serve as lead researcher for a project examining the impacts of state COVID-19 mitigation policies on adult psychological health, drug overdose and suicide. The five-year project is funded by $1.95 million from the National Institutes of Health. 

    • Why COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Are Lower in Rural Areas of the U.S. (SU News Pitch and Associated Press)
    • Pain and Isolation Are Driving America’s Lockdown Overdose Surge (VICE)
    • Epidemic of Despair Could Haunt America Long After COVID (Institute for New Economic Thinking)
    • Exit polls suggest significant polarization about the pandemic and its economic fallout (Vox)

Colleen Heflin   |   cmheflin@syr.edu  
Colleen Heflin is a professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School. Heflin’s specialties include policy related to child and family poverty. Her most recent work focuses on the impacts of food insecurity in American households, particularly during the pandemic. 

    • Material hardship taking a mental and physical toll on young adults during pandemic (Medical Xpress)
    • New York to Offer Undocumented Migrants Up to $15,600 in Pandemic Relief (Common Dreams)
    • Hunger a constant as region braces for dark winter (Schenectady Daily Gazette)

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern   |   lminkoff@syr.edu
Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern is an assistant professor of food studies in Falk College and an affiliated faculty member of geography in the Maxwell School. Minkoff-Zern’s expertise lies at the intersection of food, racial and social justice, and agricultural policy. Her most recent work focuses on the impact of the pandemic on food systems and farm workers. 

    • Why aren’t NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line? (Syracuse.com)
    • Farm, Food Workers Lagging When It Comes to COVID Vaccinations (Pacific Northwest Ag Network)

Pandemic’s Impact on Veterans 

Nicholas Armstrong   |   narmstro@syr.edu
Nicholas Armstrong is the senior director for research and evaluation at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF). Armstrong’s expertise lies in veteran public policy for the societal and economic needs of veterans. His current work focuses on advocating for policies and programs to support veterans during the pandemic. 

    • Partnerships Needed to Support the Military-to-Civilian Transition (SU News Pitch)
    • Military families in need of food assistance amid pandemic (MSNBC)
    • Understanding Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Veterans and Military Families (Military Times)

Rosalinda Vasquez Maury   |   rvmaury@syr.edu
Rosalina Vasquez Maury is the director of applied research and analytics at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF). Maury has extensive experience studying veteran and military spouse employment and education. Her recent work relates to the positive impacts of  veteran entrepreneurship during the pandemic. 

    • Some Veteran Entrepreneurs Say Military Experience Is Helping Them Withstand The Pandemic (The American Homefront Project)
    • What Today’s Veterans Should Know About Entrepreneurship (Military.com)
    • COVID One Year Later: Insights from the Military-Connected Community (SU News Pitch)

Business and Supply Chains

Julie Niederhoff   |   jniederh@syr.edu
Julie Niederhoff is an associate professor of supply chain management in the Whitman School. Niederhoff’s expertise lies in supply chain contracting, human behavior related to supply chain, and operations. She has commented frequently on the challenges impacting global supply chains throughout the pandemic. 

    • Closing Meat Processing Plans Might Mean Less Food and Less Variety (CNN)
    • The state of the workforce 2020: COVID-19 catalyzes a reckoning (Provisioner Online)
    • Get Ready to Stand in Line for a Long Time Once Lockdown Ends (Daily Beast)

Patrick Penfield   |   pcpenfie@syr.edu
Patrick Penfield is a professor of supply chain practice in the Whitman School. Penfield’s research focuses on green supply chains, manufacturing and warehousing, and strategic sourcing. His expertise has been a leading voice on issues within supply chains during the pandemic.

    • New Plan to Address the Supply Chain Crisis (Forbes)
    • Food prices steadily climb nearly 1 year into pandemic (Good Morning America)
    • What do toilet paper, lumber, and computer chips have in common? (News Channel 9)

Burak Kazaz   |   bkazaz@syr.edu
Burak Kazaz is the Steven R. Becker Professor of supply chain management and the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence in the Whitman School. Kazaz’s research focuses on the integration of supply chain operations, marketing and pricing, and the management of uncertainty and risk. His expertise relates to the manufacturing and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

    • These containers used to ship fresh tuna. Now they’ll deliver COVID-19 vaccines (CNN)
    • Looking at the ingredients behind the different vaccine brands (KCBS Radio)
    • SU Supply Chain Expert: Direct Shipments of Vaccine Ensure Product Integrity (WAER Radio)
    • COVID Vaccine Concerns: How Long Might It Take to Get One? (SU News Pitch)

Mental Health

Afton Kapuscinski   |   ankapusc@syr.edu
Afton Kapuscinski is an associate professor of psychology and director of the Psychological Services Center in the College of Arts and Sciences. Kapuscinski’s research relates to the treatment and prevention of mental health issues in adults, and college students in particular. She is available to comment on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both adult and young adult’s mental health. 

    • Syracuse University Experts on Vaccine Hesitancy (SU News Pitch) 
    • Low Vaccination Rates Among Young People Indicate Vaccine Hesitancy is Not Just Political (Newsweek)
    • Vaccine resistance persists despite pro-jab messaging (RTE – Irish National Broadcast)

Ken Marfilius   |   kjmarfil@syr.edu
Ken Marfilius is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Social Work in Falk College. Marfilius’ areas of interest include social work intervention, military culture and mental health, and suicide prevention. He is able to comment on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on veteran’s mental health.

    • Professor comments on PTSD Awareness Day, especially important this year with the COVID-19 pandemic (SU News Pitch)

Rashimi Gangamma   |   rgangamm@syr.edu
Rashmi Gangamma is an Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy in Falk College. Gangamma’s expertise includes providing trauma-informed mental health treatment for refugee families. Her current research focuses on the benefits of teletherapy and telehealth services during the pandemic.

Race and COVID-19

Danielle Taana Smith   |   dsmith33@syr.edu
Danielle Taana Smith is a professor of African American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Renée Crown University Honors Program. Smith’s research focuses on global public health and issues of social justice and human rights. Her current work covers the impact of COVID-19 on people of color. 

    • Faith in the COVID vaccine? (The Cortland Standard)
    • The Crisis of Democracy: A Marshall Plan for the Biden Administration (LA Progressive)

Education

George Theoharis   |   gtheohar@syr.edu
George Theoharis is a professor of education leadership and inclusive elementary and early childhood education in the School of Education. Theoharis has extensive experience in educational leadership as a former principal and teacher. He is currently focused on the impact of the pandemic on the education system and students.

    • How remote learning will probably be different at CNY schools in the fall (Syracuse.com)
    • The Path to Systemic Change: Equity-Focused School Leadership (SU News Pitch)

Tiffany Koszalka   |   takoszal@syr.edu
Tiffany Koszalka is a professor of instructional design, development and evaluation in the School of Education. Koszalka studies the integration of learning, instruction, and technologies in instructional and learning environments. With the COVID-19 pandemic, Koszalka’s work and research is especially important given the transition to online or hybrid work for students of all ages. 

    • How to handle life at home during social distancing (WSYR)

Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion

The Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion in the Maxwell School leads the way in community health research, education, and outreach related to the social, spatial, and structural determinants of physical, mental, and behavioral health. The center consists of over 20 faculty affiliates from various disciplines including public health, sociology, psychology, economics, and public administration.

The Lerner Center has published dozens of studies and research briefs during the pandemic related to various aspects of COVID-19. You can find them here. Recent examples:

    • Why are COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Lower in Rural than in Urban areas of the U.S.?
    • Working Parents Post Pandemic: Reimagining Remote Work after COVID-19
    • Staying at Home: How Well Did Americans Maintain Their Health Behaviors during COVID-19?
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