Saskia R. Popescu, PhD, MA, MPH

• Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship, Center for Health Security, John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (2017)
• Fellow, Infection Prevention and Control, APIC 2023
• 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award, Schar School Alumni Chapter (2022)
• Infection Prevention APIC Member Spotlight (2022)
• 50 Experts to Trust in a Pandemic (2021) Medium
• COVID-19 Coalition, ContagionLive (2021-2022)
• Presidential Scholar, George Mason University (2015-2019)
• George Mason Global Health Security Ambassador for the 5^th Annual Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial meeting – Bali, Indonesia (2018).
• Frontier Interdisciplinary eXperience (FIX), Homeland Security Career Development Grant in Food Protection and Defense (2010).
• Department of Homeland Security Center for Domestic Preparedness Pandemic Preparedness (P3), Hospital Emergency Response, CBRNE HOT agents, and IED Awareness/Counter Terrorism certifications (2013)
• United Nations Basic and Advanced Field Security Training, (2014)
• FEMA NIMS 100, 700, 701, and 800 training (2011)
• FAS-CAT/CARVER+Shock training from University of Minnesota College of Public Health Summer Institute (2010).
• Certification in Infection Control & Epidemiology – APIC, December 2013 and re-certified in August 2023

• Science Friday interviews: “Omicron May Be Less Severe. It’s Still A Big Healthcare Problem”, “Coronavirus: Sanitizing, According to Science”, “How To Prepare Your Healthcare System For A New Coronavirus”, etc.
• “Biodefense in Context of IPC”, Greater Baltimore Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (GB APIC), (2022).
• “Addressing Inaccurate and Misleading Information about Biological Threats through Scientific Collaboration and Communication”. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. (2022).
• “Establishing and Deploying a Hospital Biopreparedness Program”, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) National Conference (2021).
• “Infection Prevention and Air Travel”, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Workshop – Flying in the COVID-19 Ear, Science-based Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategies on the Ground and in the Air. (2021).  
• In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt, “Toolkit: How to Build a Bubble” (2020).
• This Podcast Will Kill You “COVID-19 Chapter 12: Control, Take 2” (2020).

Council On Strategic Risks, Senior Fellow, Janne E Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons 

Project management and lead on initiatives regarding open-source intelligence used for biological monitoring of outbreaks and verification of the Biological Weapons Convention compliance, congressional engagement, spillover and biosafety efforts during viral discovery, and laboratory biorisk efforts.

• Focused efforts on intersection of public health and policy, community resilience during biological events, supporting efforts to address biosecurity vulnerabilities and strategy building.
• Supporting initiatives on international biocooperation and addressing biological risks posed by natural, accidental, and manmade events.
• Special focus on pandemics, global health security, biosecurity, biopreparedness, early warning and biosurveillance programs, ecological and biological safety, and response to infectious disease events and threats.
• Signatory and working group on Non-governmental Organization (NGO) statement for the Biological Weapons Convention within the United Nations

Former

George Mason University, Schar School of Policy and Government,                          Adjunct Professor (frmr Assistant Professor) – Biodefense graduate program,

• Courses include healthcare resilience, global health security, biosecurity and pandemic response, public health, and epidemiology for policy making.
• Doctoral dissertation committee support for three students.
• Review and assessment of applicants for doctoral program qualifying exams.
• Transitioned from Assistant Professor to Adjunct in August 2023. 

Netflix, Infection prevention epidemiologist consultant and team lead – managed global infection prevention efforts for Netflix.  

• Oversaw the development, implementation, and led COVID-19 pandemic prevention and response efforts for Netflix, including productions and supporting international response. Coordinated complex, multi-country policies that included testing, vaccine acquisition and deployment, contact tracing and education, supply chain review, COVID-19 prevention strategies, and education across dozens of productions, including several $250+ million budgeted films.
• Coordinated with senior leadership to forecast needs, ensure financial allocations and budgets were adjusted accordingly. Responsible for global health initiatives, such as risk assessments and threat analysis, preparedness and response plans, as well as coordination with Netflix Corporate, Production Security Intelligence, Policy, etc.
• Designed and operationalized an assessment tool for measuring the burden of COVID-19 on productions, but also the intervention burden for response on a global scale.
• Developed and initiated global response policies and protocols for infectious disease events, including mpox, dengue, measles, Ebola, yellow-fever, gastroenteritis, TB, etc. Responsible for evolving operational guidance for managing outbreaks on productions globally.
• Responsible for review and analysis of health intervention cost metrics, forecasting, and economics, including collection of data and trends involving the impact of infectious diseases and health security threats that pose a risk and financial impact to continuity of operations.
• Developed and operationalized contact tracing efforts in various countries and regions, requiring a variety of educational and data collection methods. Integrated risk communication, community engagement, and local public health requirements/mandates to ensure efficacy. Collaborated with local governments, public health agencies and non-governmental organizations, and Netflix global to facilitate pandemic response, vaccine clinics, and global health response within the framework of local regulatory requirements and workplace safety. 

World Health Organization, Infection Prevention Consultant

• Supported the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Program through expert recommendation development and review of research proposals and funding strategies.
• Coordinated with researchers and internal WHO efforts to support their R&D Blueprint initiative to further research in a range of COVID-19 related topics including transmission, personal protective equipment, disinfection, etc.

Wikipedia: Saskia Popescu