July 26th, 2021

Dr. Danny Benjamin, a Professor of Pediatric Infectious diseases at Duke University and principal investigator on the large North Carolina Covid school study, has shared a wealth of knowledge on COVID, vaccines and getting back to school. We discuss the safety of vaccines, to mask or not to mask, and other pertinent topics for a back to school view.

Over the next few weeks I will be following up with podcast discussions with these guests:

1) Dr. Randy Jirtle, a retired Duke University Professor of Epigenetics and Time Magazine's 2007

person of the year nominee, discusses epigenetics, the study of the environment's effects on our genes without altering the genome. However, as you will learn, the effects are still profound and critically important for maternal decision making.

2) Ken Cook, President of the Environmental Working Group an influential environmental group, and Dr. John Wear, professor of Environmental Sciences at Catawba College will be discussing the state of the nation with regards to environmental triggers of disease which can cause problems in mothers and children.

3) Dr. Victoria Maizes, Chief, Division of Integrative Medicine and Executive Director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, will be discussing maternal health. She is an author of Be Fruitful, a guide to a healthy pregnancy and thus a healthy child. This is my favorite topic currently and I expect that parents to be will love her information.

4) Dr. William Parker, Associate Professor of Surgery and Global Health at Duke University, will discuss the biome depletion theory and how our cleanliness is disrupting normal immune function. These effects can have profound downstream effects on maternal and child health.

 

Dr. M