Masks, Myths, and Medicine

In these days of pandemic disruption, anxiety, and endless new information, how do we navigate the difference between fact and fiction, science and myth?

We are pleased to know that you will be joining us for a virtual conversation with Dr. Bob Morris '74 focused on the importance of trusting the scientific method and the risks to sound decision-making when misinformation is allowed to proliferate. Dr. Morris is an epidemiologist,
biostatistician, teacher and award-winning author. The discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Jared Zelman P'04, Hotchkiss medical director, with introductory remarks from Craig Bradley, head of school. 

Click below at 8 p.m. EDT to access the event. 
A replay will also be made available at a later date.

Participant Bios

Bob Morris M.D. '74Dr. Robert Morris '74

Dr. Morris lives ten miles from the first nursing facility in Seattle, where the COVID-19 outbreak struck, and just up the road from the second. Since the pandemic began, he has been writing a blog on the impact and implications of the virus in Seattle and beyond. 

He has served as an advisor or consultant to many institutions nationally and internationally, including the President’s Cancer Panel, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control, the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes, and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Environmental Epidemiology. He was profiled as a Hotchkiss Alum of the Month in 2013. In addition to his M.D., he holds an M.S. in biostatistics and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering. 

His Nautilus Award Winning first book, The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink, published in 2007, is an alarming warning about the terrible dangers that our current water supply faces every day –– from both natural and outside threats. Morris has published more than 50 articles in scientific literature as well as op-ed pieces in numerous outlets, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, and The Hill. His research has been featured on national and international media, including Dateline NBC, CBS Evening News, NPR,  BBC, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Times of London. He is serializing his second book on the blog. Ironically, the plot of The Twisted Helix, a young adult novel that he started ten years ago, centers around a corona virus outbreak in Seattle.

Visit Dr. Morris's Blog: Ahead of the Curve: COVID-19

Jared Zelman, M.D. P'04Dr. Jared Zelman P'04

Dr. Zelman came to Hotchkiss in 2005 from the emergency department at Sharon Hospital, where he served as the director from 1989-2004, and continued to practice emergency medicine after joining Hotchkiss until 2014. A graduate of the University of California, Riverside, he earned his medical degree from the University of Panama and completed his residency training in family medicine at the University of Maryland Health System. Dr. Zelman has a daily radio show, which can be heard on WHDD and WZBG.