Julie Schafer
Ep. 46 — A chance encounter and an impulse decision takes a public health expert on a wild ride into the world of dangerous pandemics / Julie Schafer, Chief Technology Officer, The Flu Lab. Julie Schafer was sitting in her tiny office in a big office building in Washington D.C. having second thoughts about how the Presidential Management Fellowship that she had just begun fit in with her career goals. Then, a chance introduction to Bruce Gellin, then the head of the National Vaccine Program Office and now the President, Global Immunizations, at Sabin Vaccine Institute became the inflection point of her career. Since that day 15 years ago, Schafer has held numerous leadership roles including Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) the federal agency tasked with funding to prevent pandemic influenza and emerging infectious diseases. She also served as Director for Medical and Biodefense Preparedness Policy in the National Security Council (NSC) under President Barack Obama. Currently the Chief Technology Officer at FluLab, Schafer is consulting with the federal government on strategies and vaccines to stop Covid-19 in its tracks. She fears that the fall flu season could be a real wakeup call in the already tough fight against coronavirus. “Something that I think a lot about that doesn't make me the hit at any virtual cocktail party. But there's nothing about this pandemic, this COVID-19 pandemic that in any way lessens the risk of having an influenza pandemic. So we could have the severity of whatever influenza strains that we are presented with next,” Schafer says. “This current pandemic has no bearing on it. So maybe we'll have a mild influenza year or maybe we'll have a really hard one or maybe an influenza pandemic will emerge at the same time. I think that really is very daunting and makes me very worried and hopeful that influenza will cut us some slack this year.” Read the Transcript Download the PDF Chitra Ragavan: Julie Schafer was pursuing what she thought was her dream career in public health, when a chance meeting at an impulse decision settle on a wild ride deep into the world of dangerous pandemics. Schafer's expertise could not be more timely given the COVID-19 pandemic. She works to apply new technologies and approaches to an old foe – influenza – and is applying that knowledge fighting this pandemic. Hello everyone, I'm Chitra Ragavan and this is When It Mattered. This episode is brought to you by Good Story an advisory firm helping technology start-ups find their narrative. I'm joined now by Julie Schafer, the chief technology officer for the organization flu lab, where she seeks to stretch the boundaries of how technology is used to defeat influenza. Chitra Ragavan: Julie has held a number of leadership positions in the US government, including Chief of Staff and later Director of strategy for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA at the US department of health and human services. BARDA is the key agency tasked with funding efforts to prevent both naturally emerging and intentional threats. Schafer has served as the director for medical and biodefense preparedness policy in the White House National Security Council under President Barack Obama, where her portfolio included preparedness and response to emerging diseases, such as Zika, efforts to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria and medical countermeasures preparedness. Julie, welcome to the podcast. Julie Schafer: Oh, it's such a pleasure to be with you. Chitra Ragavan: Tell us a little bit about your background, what you were doing and what was this chance encounter that changed the course of your life and turned you into a lifelong flu and pandemic chaser? Julie Schafer: Oh, for sure. I'd love to. Well, so I grew up in Upstate New York. My mom had a bit of a wanderlust and my dad was always game.