UNMC will continue its Breakthrough Thinking Conference Series on Dec. 15, with a hybrid presentation focused on health security and infectious diseases.

The annual series, open to all UNMC faculty, staff and students, is designed to challenge and inspire out-of-the-box thinking.

Attendees will hear from Major Gen. (ret.) Paul Friedrichs, MD, deputy assistant to the president and inaugural director of The White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy. His presentation, titled “Rethinking Biopreparedness,” will take place from noon to 1 p.m. CST. Attendees are invited to attend the talk via Zoom, or in-person in Room 2006 of the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education. 

Join the webinar here.

In his role, Major Gen. Friedrichs, who will receive an honorary degree at UNMC’s Dec. 15 commencement, advises the president and coordinates U.S. government efforts to enhance the United States and its partners’ ability to prepare for and respond to pandemics and other biologic events. He previously served as special assistant to the president and senior director for global health security and biodefense at the White House National Security Council, where he coordinated U.S. policy to detect, prevent, prepare for, and respond to, infectious diseases and biological threats.

He previously served as the Joint Staff Surgeon at the Pentagon, where he provided medical advice to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Department of Defense (DOD) operations and also served as the medical advisor to the DOD COVID-19 Task Force. He also was the U.S. representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services. In addition to caring for patients in combat, Antarctica and other austere locations, he has led DOD's global medical evacuation system and assisted in multiple major domestic and international responses to natural disasters and biological outbreaks, as well as multiple global health engagements.