SARANAC LAKE — Partnering with North Country Community College, the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce and the Malone Chamber of Commerce, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting “Getting Vaccinated: A Community Conversation,” a panel discussion with local microbiology and immunology experts.

The session will take place at 7 p.m. Monday on Zoom. It will explore questions such as: “What does getting vaccinated mean for my family and me?” “How do COVID-19 variants affect vaccination?” “What does the future look like for needing vaccinations again six months or a year from now?” and, “How quickly will we be able to get back to normal?”

The panelists will provide a brief summary of what getting vaccinated means for the community and area families, followed by an open-ended question-and-answer session. Questions can be submitted ahead of time using the link below. Interested people can register to participate via Zoom or watch the event live through the chamber’s Facebook event.

Links

¯ Facebook event: https://bit.ly/30MFXLp

¯ Zoom registration: https://bit.ly/3vFfEFh

¯ Question submission form: https://bit.ly/3qXbdBU

For more information, contact Patrick Murphy, executive director of the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, at 518-891-1991.

Panelists

¯ Sarah Shoemaker has taught courses at North Country Community College for 10 years covering biology and chemistry, including microbiology. She received her bchelor’s degree in biology from Washington University in St. Louis and her Master of Science degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently an associate professor of health science at NCCC and lives in Saranac Lake with her family.

¯ Eric Yager is an associate professor of microbiology in the Department of Basic and Clinical Sciences at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and a faculty member of the college’s Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training. He brings more than 15 years of experience in the areas of virology, immunology, vaccinology, antibody-based therapies and anti-virals. His current research focuses on human diseases caused by enveloped RNA viruses including COVID-19, influenza, and congenital Zika syndrome. He is enthusiastic about educating individuals on viruses and pandemics, as demonstrated by his several recent guest spots on talk radio to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and his public webinars on the 1918 flu pandemic.

¯ Cris Kamperschroer is an immunologist whose early career focused on studying how the immune system protects against viral infections. He then moved on to a drug development role at Pfizer, where he worked to ensure the safety of a variety of cancer drugs and vaccines. Prior to leaving Pfizer, he was involved in Pfizer’s SARS-Cov2 (COVID-19) vaccine, which is currently available in the U.S. and other countries around the world. In September 2020, he returned to Saranac Lake as the chief scientific officer at Bionique Testing Laboratories.