Ask a UAA Expert: Video series shares faculty expertise relevant to COVID-19 response

Welcome to our latest video series, "Ask a UAA Expert." UAA has a number of faculty whose areas of expertise are directly relevant to what we're experiencing with COVID-19. Hear from faculty experts on coronavirus and disaster preparedness, economic impacts of pandemics, psychological effects, the history of disaster and the indigenous perspective. We have that all here at UAA, and we'd like to share it with you.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Cindy Knall on Vaccine Trials 
  Cindy Knall, associate professor in the WWAMI School of Medical Education, discusses vaccine trials in this episode of "Ask a UAA Expert." She answers questions like "What is the goal of the vaccine and how does it work?" and "What can do while we're waiting for the clinical trials?"

• Ask a UAA Expert: Sharon Chamard on Policing
  Sharon Chamard is an associate professor in UAA's Justice Center. In this episode of "Ask a UAA Expert," she answers questions about the role of police in the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is affecting their operations.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Amber Worthington on Health Messaging
  Is fear an effective way to motivate people to take precautions during this COVID-19 pandemic? Amber Worthington, assistant professor in UAA's Department of Communication, answers this question and explains how communicating about science can be challenging.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Larry Persily on News Media
  Larry Persily is UAA's Atwood Chair of Journalism. In this episode of "Ask a UAA Expert," Larry discusses how the news media is covering the COVID-19 pandemic and how to deal with information overload.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Kyra McKay & Zach Harrison on Wellness
  Kyra McKay and Zach Harrison from UAA's Employee Wellness Program provide tips for focusing on wellness and why it's important in the COVID-19 situation, including creating spaces in our homes for different activities.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Britteny Howell on COVID-19 Risks to Older Adults
  How can we support older adults during this COVID-19 outbreak? Britteny Howell, professor of population health sciences, recommends maintaining social contact with elders, having a plan to determine what happens if they get sick as well as keeping them aware of COVID-19-related scams.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Ryan Harrod on Cultural Impacts: Part 1
  Anthropology professor Ryan Harrod talks about how pandemics affect culture and society as well as similarities and differences between COVID-19 and past pandemics from an evolutionary perspective.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Amber Christensen Fullmer, Quentin Simeon on Impact on Alaska Native Students
  Director of Native Student Services Amber Christensen Fullmer and Interim Assistant Director Quentin Simeon explain what the university is doing to help Alaska Native rural students as well as Alaska Native resiliency.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Eric Bortz on Virology of COVID-19
  Eric Bortz is an associate professor in UAA's Department of Biological Sciences. He answers questions like "How bad is it and what can we do?" and "How can we track, treat, and create a vaccine against COVID-19?"

• Ask a UAA Expert: Maria Williams on Pandemics in Alaska Native History
  Maria Williams, professor in the departments of Alaska Native Studies and Music, talks about the impacts of the 1918 pandemic on the Alaska Native community.
  

• Ask a UAA Expert: Ashley O'Connor on Pet Ownership
  If you have pets, Ashley O'Connor, School of Social Work assistant professor, has some tips for how to care for them during difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only is it important to practice social distancing between other people and your pets, but it's also recommended to interact with them to alleviate stress. She also advises anyone considering getting a new pet to help animal shelters by fostering them.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Amana Mbise on Supporting Families
  Amana Mbise, postdoctoral fellow in the UAA College of Health's School of Social Work, talks about how to support families during a crisis, including providing accurate information about how to stay safe and helping people experience normal conversations.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Vivian Gonzalez on Mental Health 
  Vivian Gonzalez with UAA's Department of Psychology answers questions about how we can take care of our mental health during quarantine and self-isolation. She recommends maintaining social contact with others through phone calls or social media, keeping a regular schedule and more.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Vanessa Meade on Mindfulness and Meditation
  What is mindfulness, and how can it help us when we're caught up in our thoughts or emotions? Vanessa Meade, assistant professor in the College of Health's School of Social Work, explains the importance of being in the present and recognizing habits we've created out of what we have done in the past.
  

• Ask a UAA Expert: Mary Dallas Allen & Alexa Filanowicz on Taking Care of Kids
  Mary Dallas Allen and Alexa Filanowicz from UAA College of Health's School of Social Work discuss helping your family cope with school closures and provide resources for responding to children's emotional needs.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Hattie Harvey on Children's Mental Health
  Hattie Harvey, associate professor of psychology at UAA, offers tips for talking to children about COVID-19 and setting up homeschool activities.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Paul Dunscomb on Global Pandemic History
  Paul Dunscomb, chair of the history department at UAA, takes us back to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and discusses what our community can learn from it as we face today's COVID-19 pandemic.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Mouhcine Guettabi on State Economic Consequences
  Mouhcine Guettabi is an associate professor of economics at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at UAA. In this episode, he talks about economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the state economy and state budget.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Chad Briggs on Policy Response
  Director of Public Policy and Administration Chad Briggs answers questions about why some countries and regions are hit harder than others by the COVID-19 outbreak and what the policy is for a state or small country if there's an outbreak of cases like in Italy.

• Ask a UAA Expert: Kevin Berry on Pandemic Economics
  Kevin Berry, assistant professor of economics at UAA, answers questions about pandemic economics, like "Does climate change or human activity have anything to do with the emergence of coronavirus?"

"Ask a UAA Expert: Video series shares faculty expertise relevant to COVID-19 response" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.