On June 25, 2024, ICAP presented the Grand Rounds – State of the Mpox Epidemic: Global, National, and Local Perspectives.

Globally, there have been nearly 100,000 mpox cases reported since early May 2022, with most cases affecting gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. While a combination of behavioral changes and vaccination efforts quelled the 2022 outbreak, a deadlier version of mpox is currently fueling a surge of cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Experts from ICAP at Columbia University, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute of Biomedical Research in the DRC explored the current status of the mpox epidemic around the world, as well as shared findings from a recent New York City mpox survey.

Presenters

Jennifer McQuiston, DVM, MS, ret. CAPT USPHS, Deputy Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Jennifer McQuiston serves as the deputy director of the Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with a primary mission to investigate and respond to infectious disease threats that pose dire consequences to the public’s health and safety. McQuiston has spent her 25+ year career at the CDC investigating outbreaks of dangerous pathogens, especially those with zoonotic sources. She has served as incident manager for CDC’s response to mpox during 2022 and 2024.

Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Associate Professor, University of Kinshasa; Director, Clinical Research Center, National Institute of Biomedical Research, DRC

Placide Mbala Kingebeni is an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Kinshasa. He is the head of Epidemiology and Global Health and director of the Clinical Research Center at the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mbala has extensive experience in medical biology, with specific training and expertise in microbiology, virology, and outbreak investigations. Currently, Mbala is co-leading several research studies on mpox in the DRC, including a clinical trial on the efficacy of tecovirimat for the treatment of mpox in adults and children in the DRC.

Joey Platt, Senior Project Officer, ICAP at Columbia University

Joey Platt (she/her) is a senior project officer at ICAP at Columbia University with seven years of research experience coordinating studies on HIV prevention, substance use, COVID-19, and most recently, mpox. As a co-investigator of ICAP’s mpox seroprevalence study, Platt led the design and implementation of a community survey among men who have sex with men and transgender and nonbinary individuals in New York City. Prior to this work, Platt supported COVID-19 response efforts at the university level and led an online survey to assess the impact of the pandemic on the LGBTQ+ community.