Cornell Expert Quotes | Cornell Chronicle

Cornell Expert Quotes

Cornellians weigh in on current events in the news

"As Trump showed, even negative buzz is good, especially for front runners, because it can suck attention away from challengers (remember during GOP debate when he talked about his ‘hands’)."

Drew Margolin

Assistant Professor

Topic	Name	Date
Health, Nutrition & Medicine , Life Sciences & Veterinary Medicine , New York State , New York City	Cynthia Leifer Associate Professor of Immunology	01/05/21
	“Cuomo is right that we need to make sure the vaccines are being given as quickly as possible and that sites are not allowed to stockpile. However, I agree with those who are critical of Cuomo’s plan for rigid rules and disqualifying sites, especially hospitals, from getting future distributions. Expanding the number of distribution sites and incentivizing rapid use of stocks is a better way to go. Regardless of who gets immunized when, we need to remember that we are in this for the long haul and everyone needs to continue to wear masks and physical distance.” Media: Lindsey Hadlock lmh267@cornell.edu 607-269-6911 Related Tip Sheet: Immunologist: NY must expand, incentivize COVID vaccine distribution (01/05/21)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine , International , Industrial and Labor Relations	Sarah Besky Associate Professor, International and Comparative Labor; Associate Professor, Labor Relations, Law, and History	12/10/20
	“This case in Andhra Pradesh is certainly alarming, but it is just another example of how ‘mystery illnesses’ especially in rural, poor, and otherwise marginalized areas are usually much more complicated than single, identifiable point-source cause. Hunger, warming temperatures, zoonotic diseases, industrial practices, and pesticide exposure intertwine to ensure not only that ‘causality’ is difficult to determine, but that ‘risk’ is firmly part of intimate spaces and domestic life.” Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: Risk factors in India mystery illness make cause difficult to determine (12/10/20)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine	Isabel Perera Assistant Professor of Government	12/09/20
	"The concerns about the possibility of rationing care in a winter wave of COVID-19 are not wrong, but neither are they new." Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: COVID-19 healthcare issues reflect pre-existing inequalities (12/09/20)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine	Adam Seth Litwin Associate Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations	11/12/20
	Litwin says: “In school, we learn that capital and labor can be adjusted with a dial. If only that were true. To build a skilled workforce, policymakers need to play the long game. Even by raising wages substantially right now, they can’t instantly create more registered nurses or intensive care doctors. Times like these make that reality painfully clear. “As much as we all want to return to normalcy, lockdowns may well be the most responsible measure. Even if the healthcare sector can somehow find more beds, it cannot just go out and buy more frontline caregivers – not when they are in demand across the globe. That means we have to rely on prevention, as treatment could become less and less of a viable alternative.” Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: Hospitals face ‘painfully clear’ future: not enough caregivers (11/12/20)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine	Adrienne Rose Bitar Postdoctoral Associate	11/03/20
	“In the last ten years, new technologies like the Fitbit and calorie counters have led to the rise of the quantified self. And new media platforms have exposed Americans to a wide variety of diets and diet gurus. I expect the number of American dieters to continue to grow as obesity has been shown to be a major risk factor for the severity of COVID-19.” Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: Tech makes dieting, ‘lifestyle plans’ more accessible than ever (11/03/20)
New York City , New York State , Health, Nutrition & Medicine , Life Sciences & Veterinary Medicine	Isaac Weisfuse Medical Epidemiologist	10/06/20
	“We are at a pivotal moment in NYC's fight against coronavirus. In the past several weeks we've seen infection rates climb in parts of Brooklyn and Queens. This threatens the hard-won gains of last spring and summer. The Mayor and the Governor recently agreed to close all schools in these neighborhoods. This was a wise decision as transmission within crowded schools will happen, even with the best of intentions. We know that these interventions work to stop the spread of the virus. The question is did we implement them too late?” Media: Lindsey Hadlock lmh267@cornell.edu 607-269-6911 Related Tip Sheet: NYC hotspot interventions ‘wise’ — but are they too late? (10/06/20)
Architecture, Art and Planning , International , Health, Nutrition & Medicine	Victoria Beard Professor of City and Regional Planning, Associate Dean of Research at AAP	09/08/20
	“Washing your hands for the recommended 20 seconds and social distancing is much more difficult, if not impossible in these cities.” Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: India’s COVID-19 surge reflects lack of sanitation, infrastructure (09/08/20)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine , New York State , New York City	Gen Meredith Associate Director of the Cornell University Master of Public Health Program	05/11/20
	“Public health leaders want to make sure that everyone who may have been exposed to COVID-19 knows where to get tested and gets tested. They also want people to know how the virus is spreading in communities and who is most at risk for more severe illness. This data informs how and when we re-open, and how to keep more people safe; contact tracers make that happen.” Media: Lindsey Hadlock lmh267@cornell.edu 607-269-6911 Related Tip Sheet: Contact tracing a ‘tried-and-true tool’ for public health (05/11/20)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine	Isaac Weisfuse Medical Epidemiologist	04/22/20
	"Any positive test without contact tracing is bad public health because it misses an opportunity to reduce the spread of the virus" Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: In-home COVID-19 tests without contact tracing is ‘bad public health’ (04/22/20)
Health, Nutrition & Medicine	Sahara Byrne Professor of Communication	03/12/20
	“It concerns me that parents may resist taking their teen to the hospital if symptoms worsen, under the belief that young people are not high risk.” Media: Gillian Smith gillian.smith@cornell.edu 607-254-6235 Related Tip Sheet: Your teen may be secretly vaping; don’t ignore coronavirus signs (03/12/20)

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