Roslien Lecture: “Reflections on a Pandemic: A Fireside Chat with Dr. Rochelle Walensky”

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-23), will join Dr. Michael Osterholm for a wide-ranging conversation about the complex relationships between medical science, public health policy, and the political landscape of the US today. Dr. Walensky will reflect on her experiences of confronting the pandemic as a scientist, a policy leader, and the public face of the CDC in a time of domestic and geopolitical challenges. From insights gleaned along her own career and life path to inspirations for vital innovations and collaborations in the future, Dr. Walensky will share her uniquely-informed position with us. The event is a rare exploration of policies and practices, ideologies and science, and perhaps even a few thoughts on how speculative narratives like science fiction films and literature can reveal and shape responses to pandemics.

The event is open to the public with no charge for admission.

About Dr. Rochelle Walensky

Dr. Walensky served as the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-23), Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (2012-2021) and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2021). Dr. Walensky is an infectious disease clinician whose research has focused on infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS policy, including cost-effective strategies for HIV screening, treatment and prevention, both in the U.S. and around the globe. Dr. Walensky served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts until beginning her tenure at the CDC on January 20th, 2021.  While at the CDC, Dr. Walensky led the nation – and the world – through unprecedented times, navigating the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and further facing the largest density of infectious threats likely ever seen in this country.

Dr. Walensky received her BA (biochemistry and molecular biology, 1991) from Washington University in St. Louis; her MD from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1995) and her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health (Clinical Effectiveness, 2001).  She completed her medical residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (1995-1998) and her infectious disease fellowship in the Massachusetts General/Brigham and Women’s Hospital combined program.  She is married to Loren Walensky, MD, PhD, a physician, scientist and pediatric oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children’s Hospital.  The Drs. Walensky have 3 sons ages 19, 21, and 23.

About Dr. Michael Osterholm

Dr. Osterholm, a 1975 Luther College graduate and current regent, is Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, all at the University of Minnesota. In November of 2020, he was named to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board.

About the Roslien Distinguished Lecuture

Dr. David J. Roslien Distinguished Lecture in Science and Leadership aims to bring internationally recognized individuals who have made impacts on society through the use of cutting-edge science or global leadership in policy and programs to Luther College to engage with faculty and students.