John J. Lowe

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John J. Lowe
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Nebraska Medical Center
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Nebraska Medical Center

John J. Lowe is an American infectious disease scientist, assistant vice chancellor for health security at University of Nebraska Medical Center, and associate professor in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health.[1] In 2014, he led Nebraska Medicine hospital’s effort to treat and care for Ebola virus disease patients and led the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s coronavirus disease 2019 response efforts.

Education[edit]

Lowe received his Bachelor of Science degree in biological chemistry in 2006[1] and received his Master of Science degree in molecular virology in 2009 from the from University of Nebraska Lincoln. He then received his Doctor of Philosophy in medical sciences from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2012.[1]

Career[edit]

Lowe became an assistant professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health in 2013 and was promoted to associate professor in 2016.[1] He became director of research for the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at Nebraska Medicine in 2011.[1] He became the assistant vice chancellor for health security training and education at University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2017.[1] His research interests include decontamination and infection prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases and special pathogens, including COVID-19, Ebola, Lassa fever and Influenza. Lowe is a co-PI for the National Emerging special pathogen Training and Education Center, a federally funded collaborative between University of Nebraska Medical Center, Emory University, and New York Health and Hospital-Bellevue that is working to address gaps in outbreak preparedness.[2][3] He became the co-PI for establishing and maintaining the U.S. National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2016.[4]

Ebola response[edit]

Lowe coordinated transport and infection control for Ebola virus disease cared for at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.[5] University of Nebraska Medical Center received the first patient with Ebola virus disease, a missionary and physician named Rick Sacra. On September 4, a Massachusetts physician, Rick Sacra, was airlifted from Liberia to be treated in Omaha, Nebraska at the Nebraska Medical Center. Working for Serving In Mission (SIM), he was the third U.S. missionary to contract Ebola.[6] He thought that he probably contracted Ebola while performing a Caesarean section on a patient who had not been diagnosed with the disease. While in hospital, Sacra received a blood transfusion from Brantly, who had recently recovered from the disease. On September 25, Sacra was declared Ebola-free and released from the hospital.[7]

On October 2, 2014, NBC News photojournalist Ashoka Mukpo, covering the outbreak in Liberia, tested positive for Ebola after showing symptoms.[8] Four other members of the NBC team, including physician Nancy Snyderman, were being closely monitored for symptoms.[9] Mukpo was evacuated on October 6 to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for treatment in their isolation unit. On October 21, 2014, Mukpo was declared Ebola-free and allowed to return to his home in Rhode Island.[10]

A government official in Sierra Leone announced on November 13, 2014, that a doctor from Sierra Leone, a permanent resident of the United States married to a U.S. citizen, would be transported to the Nebraska Medical Center for treatment for Ebola.[11] Salia arrived at Eppley Airfield in Omaha on November 15, and was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center.[12][5] On November 17, Salia died from the disease. Salia had been working as a general surgeon in Freetown, Sierra Leone when he fell ill.[citation needed]

COVID-19 response[edit]

Lowe coordinated transport and oversaw infection control for repatriated individuals quarantined or isolated for SARS-CoV-2 at the University of Nebraska Medicine. February 7, 2020, UNMC and Nebraska Medicine were enlisted to support a federal operation that evacuated 57 Americans from Wuhan, China, during an epidemic of novel coronavirus, SARS CoV-2.[13] The group were placed in quarantine at Camp Ashland, a Nebraska National Guard facility near Omaha.

On February 17, 2020, thirteen Americans were repatriated to University of Nebraska Medical Center from the Diamond Princess off the coast of Japan. Ten had tested positive, and three others had been exposed. Three days later, eleven of these people tested positive.[14]

Lowe led a team of scientists in March 2020 to collect evidence in the National Quarantine Center, at University of Nebraska Medical Center, that found the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads through airborne transmission.[15][16][17] This work was the basis for an April 1, 2020, letter from the National Academy of Science Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats to the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President raising the possibility of aerosol spread of SARS-CoV-2.[18]

Lowe developed a safe and effective method to decontaminate N95 respirators using ultraviolet light.[19] The process, shared with hospital systems across the U.S., allowed multiple reuse of N95s when personal protective equipment was in short supply.[citation needed]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Santarpia, J.L., Rivera, D.N., Herrera, V.L., Morwitzer, M.J., Creager, H.M., Santarpia, G.W., Crown, K.K., Brett-Major, D.M., Schnaubelt, E.R., Broadhurst, M.J. and Lawler, J.V., Lowe, J.J., 2020. Aerosol and surface contamination of SARS-CoV-2 observed in quarantine and isolation care. Scientific reports, 10(1), pp. 1–8.[17]
  • Lowe, J.J., Jelden, K.C., Schenarts, P.J., Rupp, L.E., Hawes, K.J., Tysor, B.M., Swansiger, R.G., Schwedhelm, S.S., Smith, P.W. and Gibbs, S.G., 2015. Considerations for safe EMS transport of patients infected with Ebola virus. Prehospital Emergency Care, 19(2), pp. 179–183.[20]
  • Jelden, K.C., Gibbs, S.G., Smith, P.W., Schwedhelm, M.M., Iwen, P.C., Beam, E.L., Hayes, A.K., Marion, N., Kratochvil, C.J., Boulter, K.C. and Hewlett, A.L., Lowe, J.J., 2015. Nebraska Biocontainment Unit patient discharge and environmental decontamination after Ebola care. American Journal of Infection Control, 43(3), pp. 203–205.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "John-Martin Lowe, PhD | Public Health | University of Nebraska Medical Center". www.unmc.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  2. ^ Kratochvil, Christopher J.; Evans, Laura; Ribner, Bruce S.; Lowe, John J.; Harvey, Melissa Cole; Hunt, Richard C.; Tumpey, Abbigail J.; Fagan, Ryan P.; Schwedhelm, Michelle M.; Bell, Sonia; Maher, John (May–June 2017). "The National Ebola Training and Education Center: Preparing the United States for Ebola and Other Special Pathogens". Health Security. 15 (3): 253–260. doi:10.1089/hs.2017.0005. ISSN 2326-5108. PMC 6532632. PMID 28636442.
  3. ^ Heisler, Sean. "About". NETEC. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  4. ^ "ASPPH | UNMC to Develop a National Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center". www.aspph.org. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  5. ^ a b Kelly, Bill; Producer, Senior; News, N. E. T. "For biocontainment team, working with Ebola patients raised delicate issues with families | netnebraska.org". netnebraska.org. Retrieved 2020-12-28. {{cite web}}: |last3= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ "Third US missionary with Ebola virus leaves Liberia". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  7. ^ "American Doctor With Ebola Is 'Grateful' Following Release From Hospital". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  8. ^ "US Journalist Believes He Got Ebola While Cleaning Infected Car". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  9. ^ "US cameraman tests positive for Ebola". News24. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  10. ^ "NBC News Freelancer Ashoka Mukpo Declared Free of Ebola". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  11. ^ Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical (2014-11-14). "Nebraska hospital prepares for new Ebola patient". CNN Digital. Retrieved 2020-12-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Martin Salia, Surgeon With Ebola, Arrives in Nebraska From Sierra Leone (Published 2014)". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2014-11-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  13. ^ Mervosh, Sarah (2020-02-18). "First Ebola, Now Coronavirus. Why an Omaha Hospital Gets the Toughest Cases". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  14. ^ "13 people, some of whom have tested positive for coronavirus, quarantined at Nebraska Med Center | Local | omaha.com". 2020-02-21. Archived from the original on 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  15. ^ Marr, Linsey C. (2020-07-30). "Opinion | Yes, the Coronavirus Is in the Air". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  16. ^ writer, Julie Anderson World-Herald staff. "Can the novel coronavirus be transmitted through the air? UNMC study suggests it can". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  17. ^ a b Santarpia, Joshua L.; Rivera, Danielle N.; Herrera, Vicki L.; Morwitzer, M. Jane; Creager, Hannah M.; Santarpia, George W.; Crown, Kevin K.; Brett-Major, David M.; Schnaubelt, Elizabeth R.; Broadhurst, M. Jana; Lawler, James V. (2020-07-29). "Aerosol and surface contamination of SARS-CoV-2 observed in quarantine and isolation care". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 12732. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1012732S. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69286-3. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7391640. PMID 32728118.
  18. ^ Read "Rapid Expert Consultation on the Possibility of Bioaerosol Spread of SARS-CoV-2 for the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 1, 2020)" at NAP.edu. 2020. doi:10.17226/25769. ISBN 978-0-309-67632-8. S2CID 243591113.
  19. ^ Kolata, Gina (2020-03-20). "As Coronavirus Looms, Mask Shortage Gives Rise to Promising Approach". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  20. ^ Lowe, John J.; Jelden, Katelyn C.; Schenarts, Paul J.; Rupp, Lloyd E.; Hawes, Kingdon J.; Tysor, Benjamin M.; Swansiger, Raymond G.; Schwedhelm, Shelly S.; Smith, Philip W.; Gibbs, Shawn G. (2015-04-03). "Considerations for Safe EMS Transport of Patients Infected with Ebola Virus". Prehospital Emergency Care. 19 (2): 179–183. doi:10.3109/10903127.2014.983661. ISSN 1090-3127. PMID 25380073. S2CID 23246171.
  21. ^ Jelden, Katelyn C.; Gibbs, Shawn G.; Smith, Philip W.; Schwedhelm, Michelle M.; Iwen, Peter C.; Beam, Elizabeth L.; Hayes, A. Kim; Marion, Nedra; Kratochvil, Christopher J.; Boulter, Kathleen C.; Hewlett, Angela L. (March 2015). "Nebraska Biocontainment Unit patient discharge and environmental decontamination after Ebola care". American Journal of Infection Control. 43 (3): 203–205. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2014.12.005. PMID 25637433.
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