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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
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B

Meeting Agendas

First Meeting of the Standing Committee to Advise the Department of State on Unexplained Health Effects on U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies

December 18, 2019

National Academy of Sciences Building
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20418
Lecture Room

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

DATA-GATHERING SESSION

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Greetings from Sponsor and Charge to Committee
Mark Cohen, Medical Director, Department of State
10:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Presentations on Medical Investigations
Moderator –David Relman, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University
Acute Presentation of an Acquired Neurosensory Syndrome
Michael Hoffer, Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Miami
Carey Balaban, Professor of Otolaryngology, Neurobiology, Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
What Underlies Havana Syndrome
Douglas Smith, Robert A. Groff Endowed Professor and Vice Chairman of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, and Director of University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair
Multimodel Neuroimaging Reveals Neurotoxins as a Likely Underlying Cause of Illness Among Canadian Diplomats
Alon Friedman, Professor of Neuroscience and Dennis Chair in Epilepsy Research, Dalhousie University
12:45 p.m. ADJOURN
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
×

Second Meeting of the Standing Committee to Advise the Department of State on Unexplained Health Effects on U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies

February 24-25, 2020

National Academy of Sciences Building
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20418
Lecture Room

Monday, February 24, 2020

Session III—Epidemiologic Investigations
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Recommended Epidemiologic Investigations for Future Incidents
Caroline Buckee, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Session IV—Possible Mechanisms of Injury—Radio Frequency Energy
3:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Moderators
Jeffrey Palmer, Group Leader, Human Health and Performance Systems Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory
David Whelan, Professor of Practice, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California, San Diego
Neurologic Illness and Pulsed Radio Frequency/Microwave Radiation
Beatrice Golomb, Professor in Residence, Medicine, University of California, San Diego [via Zoom conference call]
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Committee Q&A
6:00 p.m. ADJOURN

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Session IV Continued—Possible Mechanisms of Injury—Radio Frequency Energy
8:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Moderators
Jeffrey Palmer, Group Leader, Human Health and Performance Systems Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory
David Whelan, Professor of Practice, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California, San Diego
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
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Correlation of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Biological Effects of Weak Electromagnetic Fields
Frank Barnes, Distinguished Professor (Emeritus), Optics, Nanostructures and Bioengineering, University of Colorado
Multi-disciplinary Analysis of Microwave Induced Sound and Pressure in Human Heads
James Lin, Professor (Emeritus), Head of the Bioengineering Department, Director of the Robotics and Automation Laboratory, and Director of Special Projects in the College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago
Potential Adverse Effects Following Directed Energy Exposure
Stephanie Miller, Bennett Ibey, and Jason Payne, Air Force Research Laboratory
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Working Lunch
Session V—Possible Mechanisms of Injury—Chemicals and Toxicants
Moderator
Linda Birnbaum, Former Director, National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Department of State’s Overseas Integrated Pest Management Program
Claire Huson, Director, Policy, and Special Studies, Department of State’s Office of Safety, Health, and Environmental Management
1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Neurotoxic Agents and Routes of Exposure
Pamela Lein, Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. How to Make a Toxicological Diagnosis
Marion Ehrich, Professor, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Organophosphate Intoxication
Nick Buckley, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Sydney Medical School, Australia [via Zoom conference call]
3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Committee Q&A
4:15 p.m. ADJOURN

Third Meeting of the Standing Committee to Advise the Department of State on Unexplained Health Effects on U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
×

May 12, 2020

VIRTUAL MEETING (ZOOM)

DATA-GATHERING SESSION – OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Preparation for Medical Emergencies
Aubrey Miller, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Chief Medical Officer and the Head of the National Institutes of Health Disaster Research Response Effort
Rehabilitation Approach Should Similar Unexplained Health Effects Occur
3:30 p.m. – 3:35 p.m. Introduction
Michael Boninger, Professor and Endowed Vice Chair for Research, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
3:35 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Brain Injury Rehabilitation
Ross Zafonte, Earle P. and Ida S. Charlton Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School
4:00 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. Vestibular Rehabilitation
Susan Whitney, Professor, Physical Therapy, University of Pittsburgh
4:25 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Cognitive Rehabilitation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies
Douglas B. Cooper, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UT Health–San Antonio
4:50 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Discussion with Committee
5:30 p.m. ADJOURN
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
×
Page 56
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
×
Page 57
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
×
Page 58
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Meeting Agendas." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25889.
×
Page 59
Next: Appendix C: Additional Comments on Directed Radio Frequency Energy »
An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies Get This Book
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 An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies
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In late 2016, U.S. Embassy personnel in Havana, Cuba, began to report the development of an unusual set of symptoms and clinical signs. For some of these patients, their case began with the sudden onset of a loud noise, perceived to have directional features, and accompanied by pain in one or both ears or across a broad region of the head, and in some cases, a sensation of head pressure or vibration, dizziness, followed in some cases by tinnitus, visual problems, vertigo, and cognitive difficulties. Other personnel attached to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, reported similar symptoms and signs to varying degrees, beginning in the following year. As of June 2020, many of these personnel continue to suffer from these and/or other health problems. Multiple hypotheses and mechanisms have been proposed to explain these clinical cases, but evidence has been lacking, no hypothesis has been proven, and the circumstances remain unclear.

The Department of State asked the National Academies to review the cases, their clinical features and management, epidemiologic investigations, and scientific evidence in support of possible causes, and advise on approaches for the investigation of potential future cases. In An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies, the committee identifies distinctive clinical features, considers possible causes, evaluates plausible mechanisms and rehabilitation efforts, and offers recommendations for future planning and responses.

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