March 31, 2020: Alumni Doctors Working To Fight COVID-19

In a recent interview, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell ’75 noted that the current recession was due to the coronavirus, not a structural problem in the economy, which could be good news for an economic rebound. — NBC Today
 
Dr. Paul Biddinger ’90, Massachusetts General Hospital’s chief of emergency preparedness, said on March 25 the hospital was already using its emergency stockpile of protective equipment. — NBC News
 
Without tighter shelter-in-place restrictions, the rise in coronavirus cases could overwhelm the U.S. health care system, says Dr. Tina Tan ’92 of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. — CNBC
 
Dr. Laura Forese ’83, executive vice president of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, acknowledged that banning visitors at hospitals has been “a heart-wrenching thing to do,” but the measure is for everyone’s protection. — The New York Times

Former Princeton lacrosse player Evan Garfein ’92 has moved from plastic surgery to working in the ER as New York City handles a massive upswing in coronavirus patients. — Princeton Athletics
 
Dr. Bruce Ribner ’66, an infectious-disease specialist who led the Ebola response team at Emory University Medical Center in 2014, spoke about containment measures for coronavirus in a recent interview. — Elemental

“Our hospitals are already struggling to handle the jump in coronavirus patients. If New Jersey residents are half-hearted in their compliance, we will incur a huge human and economic cost.”

— From an op-ed by 10 New Jersey scientists, including Princeton professors Bryan Grenfell, Simon Levin, Jessica Metcalf, Sebastian Seung, Olga Troyanskaya, and Sam Wang, and president emerita Shirley Tilghman; the authors support a statewide lockdown of at least a month and a half. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley ’80 said that the coronavirus likely will disrupt life in the U.S. until June or July and may sow political discord in other countries. — Stars and Stripes
 
Jordan Salama ’19 wrote about the decision for his family to temporarily leave New York City while his father joined the front lines of the coronavirus fight there. — Scientific American
 
Wharton professor Katherine Milkman ’04 examined some of the ways the coronavirus outbreak is forcing people to reexamine their household budgets. — The Wall Street Journal
 
Journalist Peter Hessler ’92 wrote of his family’s experience living under lockdown in Chengdu, China. — The New Yorker
 
For NPR podcaster Stacy Vanek Smith ’99, working at home has meant recording in a makeshift studio that resembles a blanket fort. — The New York Times
 
Podcast producer Kareem Maddox ’11, a player on the U.S. national 3x3 men’s basketball team, has found his life put on hold after the Olympics were postponed. — The Wall Street Journal
 
Two-time Olympic steeplechase competitor Donn Cabral ’12 continues to train for what will now be the 2021 Olympic Games. — NBC Connecticut
 
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ’96 signed a law abolishing the state’s death penalty and commuted the sentences of three death row prisoners to life in prison without the possibility of parole. — The New York Times
 
A recent profile of Toni Townes-Whitley ’85, Microsoft’s president for U.S. regulated industries, highlighted her longtime career in public sector IT. — Federal Computer Week