Kathleen Hefferon
Cornell University, USA
Keynote: J Infec Dis Treat
The coronavirus SARS-COV-2 has turned our own health and the world economy upside down. While several vaccine candidates are currently under development, antivirals with the potential to limit virus transmission or block infection are also being explored. Plant production platforms are being used to generate vaccines and antiviral proteins inexpensively and at mass scale. The following presentation discusses the biology and origins of the current coronavirus pandemic, and describes some of the conventional, synthetic and plant-based approaches to address the challenge that it presents to our way of life. • The audience will learn about various ways plant biotechnology can be used to address COVID-19 • Other faculty could learn to use plant biotechnology/ molecular farming to address pandemics • Vaccines and antivirals produced in plants could effectively and inexpensively combat the COVID pandemic.
Dr. Kathleen Hefferon received her PhD from the Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto and currently teaches microbiology at Cornell University. Kathleen has published multiple research papers, chapters, and reviews, and has written three books. Kathleen is the Fulbright Canada Research Chair of Global Food Security and has been a visiting professor at the University of Toronto over the past year. Her research interests include the use of biotechnology to promote global health. Kathleen lives in New York with her husband and two children.
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