Notice: BU CTSI’s past COVID-19 initiatives are preserved here for reference. This page will remain available as an archive. For current services, please visit Support for Research.

COVID-19 Community Forum (Archive)

The importance of engaging our local community in a discussion about COVID-19 became a priority during the pandemic. The BU CTSI Community Engagement (CE) Program increased bi-directional communication between researchers and community stakeholders to surface opportunities to prevent, test, and treat the virus.
In partnership with Tufts, Harvard, and UMass CE programs, we launched a recurring COVID-19 Community Forum series (starting April 23), conducted on Zoom and hosted by one of the four MA CTSA hubs.
Each forum covered a timely COVID-19 topic.

Past Sessions (recordings)
  • Thursday, April 23, 4:00–5:00 p.m.:
    Modeling the COVID Epidemic in Real-Time — Joshua Cohen, PhD (Tufts).
    Watch on YouTube
  • Thursday, April 30, 4:00–5:00 p.m.:
    RNA Therapeutics: Informational Drugs as a Pandemic Response Tool — Anastasia Khvorova, PhD (UMass).
    Watch on Vimeo
  • Monday, May 4, 4:00–5:00 p.m.:
    Getting to the Post-pandemic Era: Herd Immunity, Social Distancing, and Vaccine — Yonatan Grad, MD, PhD (Harvard).
    Watch on YouTube
  • Thursday, May 14, 4:00–5:00 p.m.:
    Building a Research Infrastructure for Equity in COVID-19 Treatment — Benjamin Linas, MD, MPH (Boston University).
    Watch on YouTube
  • Thursday, July 2, 4:00–5:00 p.m.:
    Moving Toward a Racially Just and Equitable Health Research Enterprise — Tufts CTSI panel.
    Watch on YouTube
  • Tuesday, August 25, 12:00–1:00 p.m.:
    Non-contact (and Socially Distanced) Vital Signs and Medical Measurement — Brian Anthony, PhD (MIT).
    Watch on YouTube
  • Wednesday, October 28, 5:00–6:00 p.m.:
    Equitable Vaccine Distribution: Community Discussion of the National Academy of Medicine Framework — Michael Curry (MLCHC); Ana V. Diez Roux, MD, PhD (Drexel); Lissette Blondet (MACHW); Sara King, MD (Ummah Health); Atyia Martin, PhD (Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition).
    Watch on YouTube
  • Wednesday, November 18, 5:00–6:00 p.m.:
    Community Forum on Building the Public’s Trust in the COVID-19 Vaccine — Jackie Fantes, MD (EBNHC); Jennifer José Lo, MD (BPHC); John N. Rocchio, PharmD (CVS Health); Cassandra Pierre, MD, MPH (BMC).
    Watch on YouTube