As concerns about the global coronavirus pandemic continue to spread across the nation, and world, UNLV experts can be available to offer insight, provide context, and discuss the impacts of the outbreak on public health, the economy, tourism, and social and emotional well-being.

All inquiries should be directed to the UNLV Office of Media Relations at mediarelations@unlv.edu or 702-895-3102.

Public Health

Brian Labus – Assistant Professor, School of Public Health

• Minimizing coronavirus risk and providing essential safety information
• Coronavirus fact vs. fiction
• How disease outbreaks are investigated
• Epidemics vs. pandemics
• How government agencies prepare for the risk of disease
• Differences between coronavirus and the flu

Brian Labus, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at UNLV, has been providing expertise on the coronavirus outbreak since it was identified. As a former senior investigator for the Southern Nevada Health District, Labus is well versed in outbreak investigation, disease surveillance, and infectious disease, and can separate COVID-19 facts from myths.

Francisco Sy – Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health

• Immunology 
• Infectious disease epidemiology
• Emerging infectious diseases
• Global health

Francisco Sy is a professor of public health at UNLV. Sy has worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a senior health scientist in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. In 2003, he volunteered and led the CDC SARS Community Outreach Team in Asian communities in the U.S. to mitigate the fear and stigma associated with SARS.

Paula Frew – Professor of Public Health

• Vaccine-preventable diseases
• Health communication
• Infectious disease prevention

Paula Frew is a nationally recognized authority on infectious disease prevention and treatment for HIV/AIDS, influenza, pertussis, Ebola, and other vaccine-preventable illnesses. Her research specialties also include community-based research and evaluation.

Social and emotional well-being 

Stephen Benning – Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

• Psychology of coronavirus
• Panic buying and anxiety around coronavirus
• Psychology of habits in light of coronavirus (i.e. touching your face)
• Socializing and finding community during times of contagion

Stephen Benning is a psychology professor at UNLV who researches basic emotional processes using biological measures. In recent weeks, Benning has offered insight about the psychology behind the fear of coronavirus.

Economy and Tourism  

Stephen Miller – Professor and Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research

• Coronavirus impacts on economy and Las Vegas tourism

UNLV economist Stephen Miller is available to answer questions about the coronavirus and its potention effect on the Las Vegas economy. Miller is often called upon by local and national media to comment on economic trends in Southern Nevada and across the nation.

David Schwartz – Gaming Historian

• Coronavirus impacts on tourism, casino industry

David Schwartz is a gaming historian, and the longtime former director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, a hub for scholarly analysis of gambling and gaming issues. As the coronavirus continues to spread, Schwartz is available to offer comment on its impacts to local and global tourism, and the casino industry. 

Health and Medicine

Dr. Evelyn Montalvo Stanton – Associate Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the UNLV School of Medicine

• Pulmonology
• Symptoms of coronavirus and how they differ from the flu

Dr. Evelyn Montalvo Stanton, who completed a research fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, the New York City medical school where she later taught, is the chair of the UNLV School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. Her community outreach in New Jersey, often the subject of media attention, has largely centered on pulmonary education and asthma, which has also long been a focus of both her academic and clinical research.

Dr. David Di John – Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics at the UNLV School of Medicine and Director of the Maternal Child Wellness Program

• Infectious disease

Dr. David Di John is an infectious disease specialist. A pediatrician by training, he directs UNLV’s Maternal Child Wellness program, treating pregnant mothers and children who are HIV positive. During the height of the AIDS crisis, Di John ran a pediatric AIDS clinic in New York and has more than 30 years of experience in research and treatment of pediatric infectious diseases, including clinical care for women, infants, children and youth with HIV/AIDS.

Alyssa Crittenden – Associate Professor of Anthropology

• Indigenous food systems and wild meat

Alyssa Crittenden is an anthropologist who studies the relationship between human behavior and the environment (ecological, political, and social). She seeks to better understand the links between diet, reproduction, growth and development, and maternal, infant, and child health and behavior. She currently works with members of the Hadza community in Tanzania to explore how women and children’s health are impacted by environmental change, political policy, shifts in diet composition, and ethnotourism.

Communication

Emma Frances Bloomfield – Assistant Professor of Communication Studies

• Science communication

Emma Frances Bloomfield studies how people talk and argue about science, religion, technology, and the body in public spaces, such as politics, news media, and online outlets. Professor Bloomfield is also co-founder of UNLV's new Public Communication Lab, which helps students, faculty, and community members improve the way they convey complicated information to the public.

She can provide insight on the spread of misinformation and how to combat it; science skepticism: its source, contributors, and effects; and strategies for effective communication of technical and scientific information.