Scientist is part of the committee of 13 experts formed by the president-elect of the USA to combat coronavirus in the country
A Brazilian scientist has just been summoned to be part of Joe Biden's advisory council to combat coronavirus and effects of the pandemic in the United States. Following the invitation made last week (9), Luciana Borio, who specializes in biodefense and graduated from the George Washington University School of Health Sciences Medicine, joined 12 other scientists and public health specialists to join the force- task that will manage the effects and developments of Covid-19 in the country. And now, do you want to know why Luciana caught the attention of the US president-elect as someone important to make up this team? Continue reading the article and learn more about Carioca’s trajectory in science!
Scientist was once chief scientist at the FDA and began working in the American government during the presidency of George W. Bush
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Luciana has lived in the USA since the end of the 1980s and is well known for her intense work in the area of infectious diseases. Specializing in biodefense, she is a senior global health researcher at the US Council on Foreign Relations and previously worked as a acting chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), health inspector for the country, and was also director of medical preparedness and biodefense at the country's National Security Council – which advises the White House. Throughout her career, she was a key player in developing measures to deal with the H1N1 pandemic, the Ebola outbreak and the Zika virus outbreak.
His dedication to working for the American government, by the way, began during the administration of George W. Bush, after the September 11 attacks, continuing in leadership positions during the years in which the country was governed by Barack Obama and Donald Trump. It is worth noting thatshe is part of the panel of experts at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, where people who leave one government usually work until they are called to another. Currently, Luciana is Vice President of In-Q-Tel – an investment company that accelerates the development and launch of technologies for use by the US government.
Luciana became a well-known figure for her positions regarding Covid-19
While working as a White House advisor in 2018, Luciana even warned about the possibility of a flu pandemic as the biggest health threat to come in the country. At the time, during a lecture on the 100th anniversary of the Spanish flu, the scientist stated that the country would not be ready to deal with a situation of such proportions – but, in the same month, her department, which would be responsible for responding to a pandemic like, it was closed.
The following year, Luciana resigned from the White House, but remained close during the Covid-19 crisis this year. An advocate of strengthening social distancing measures and increasing the number of tests in the population, she stated in an interview with Brazil Journal that, since we are in the “era of epidemics”, it is necessary that there are global systems capable of detecting waves of diseases and, thus, it is possible to take the necessary measures before they become pandemics affecting the entire world.
In addition, since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the scientist has become one of the most critical voices regarding the use of chloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19 before its effectiveness was scientifically proven . Regarding vaccines, his stance is also usually cautious. In an interview with Politico magazine, she said, “a definitive solution requires widespread availability of one or more safe and effective vaccines, but they won’t come quickly. […] Even if it works, it will take large-scale manufacturing and a lot of time before it becomes available to everyone”.
As part of the council, Luciana will help Biden fight the coronavirus through science
Now, as part of the transitional government's task force - which will be led by doctors David Kessler, Marcella Nunez-Smith and Vivek Murthy -, Luciana has a long way to go . The United States is the country most affected by the pandemic, both in terms of the number of confirmed cases and the number of deaths from Covid-19. On the council, the role of the scientist and other experts will be, in Biden’s words, to “manage the increase in reported infections; ensure that vaccines are safe, effective and distributed efficiently, equitably and free of charge; and protect populations at risk.”