COVID-19: Virus, Variants, and Vaccines Update

Dr. Eric Dziuban, MD, DTM, CPH, FAAP

Country Director, Centers for Disease Control, Vietnam, U.S. Embassy Hanoi

Dr. Eric Dziuban is currently the Country Director for CDC Vietnam, an office of 68 staff based between offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. He arrived in Vietnam in May 2021, following three years serving as CDC Country Director in Namibia. In that role he also served as the U.S. Embassy’s senior advisor for COVID-19 planning and senior liaison to the Namibian government’s COVID-19 emergency response.

Prior roles at CDC include Acting Branch Chief for the Child Development and Disability Branch, Team Lead for the Children’s Preparedness Unit, Chief Medical Officer for the Division of Human Development and Disability, and Medical Officer in the Pediatric HIV Care and Treatment Team. He is also a Commander in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.

Outside of regular duties, Dr. Dziuban has participated in CDC’s response efforts for Ebola, Zika virus, hurricane disasters, and the Flint water crisis. His work on global HIV has taken him to over a dozen countries, providing technical assistance and program support. He has also provided expert review and technical support for projects led by the World Health Organization, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Through his professional roles, Dr. Dziuban has contributed to a number of U.S. Government technical guidelines in current use for disease outbreaks or public health emergencies. He has been invited to present over 70 lectures or professional presentations, in addition to over 150 media appearances. He also has authored or co-authored over 40 published scientific manuscripts and has received several CDC and Commissioned Corps Officer awards for his work.

Prior to joining U.S. Government service, Dr. Dziuban lived and worked as a physician in Swaziland for Baylor College of Medicine. He continues to maintain board certification as a licensed pediatrician. He received his medical degree at Duke University and completed pediatric residency at the University of Michigan. He was also the first diplomate of the inaugural class at the National School of Tropical Medicine to receive a Diploma in Tropical Medicine.

Dr. Dziuban and his wife were both born and raised in Michigan. They currently live in Hanoi, Vietnam with their two sons.

Dr Leigh Jones,

Head of Training, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit – OUCRU

I am currently Head of Training at Oxford University Clinical Research Unit – OUCRU and Postgraduate Studies consultant at Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit.

I received my Ph.D. in Immunoparasitology in 2007 from the University of Strathclyde, UK.  I continued to work in infectious disease research for ten years (in the UK and then Singapore) gathering experience in a multitude of areas including allergy and asthma, autoimmunity, infectious disease, cancer immunotherapy and vaccinology. Throughout my career I have been deeply involved in education, training and scientific communications; dedicating much of my time to mentoring students and staff.

I moved to Vietnam in 2017 and now hold positions at both OUCRU, and MORU in Thailand, focusing on scientific capacity building and training. Specifically, my role is to manage and coordinate academic postgraduate programmes across the SEA units of the Oxford Tropical Medicine network. I am also responsible for organisation of student training and personally deliver sessions on scientific communications including my popular “Scientific Writing Workshop” which was delivered to six units across Africa and Asia in 2019. I am very passionate about public communication, dedicating a lot of my time during this pandemic to share the science on key topics such as immunology and vaccines via social media platforms, local community events and podcasts.

Dr. L. Mason Cobb

President at Victoria Healthcare International Clinics

Dr. Mason Cobb is an American physician who is the President and a founder of Victoria Healthcare International Clinics and also Chairman of Hospital Sub-group under AmCham’s Healthcare Committee. Dr. Mason has a 33-year career as a surgeon, Surgery Chairman, Trauma Services Director, and State Trauma Board member. He has been involved in healthcare in Vietnam for over 20 years and now views healthcare as dedication to optimal health through studying individuals scientifically, then designing a custom wellness program and mentoring them. He is certified in USA in Age Management-Wellness through the Age Management Medicine Educational Foundation and now enjoys life with his wife and 2 children in Ho Chi Minh city.