Elmhurst U. Offers a Look Inside Operation Warp Speed on Jan. 21

January 11, 2021 | by the Office of Marketing and Communications

Operation Warp Speed, the massive public-private effort to develop and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine in record time, poses one of today’s most urgent and complicated supply chain challenges.

A panel of experts will explore those challenges, and what it takes to get the vaccines from the factory to the front lines, during A Look Inside Operation Warp Speed and the Coronavirus Vaccine Supply Chain. Presented by the M.S. in Supply Chain Management program at Elmhurst University, the panel discussion will take place virtually on Thursday, Jan. 21.

Tim Engstrom (MSCM ’03), Elmhurst University’s executive in residence and a faculty member in the Department of Business and Economics, will moderate the discussion. The panelists include:

  • Ian O’Malley (MSCM ’12), director of strategic sourcing, University of Chicago Medicine. An alumnus of Elmhurst’s M.S. in Supply Chain Management program, O’Malley is known nationally for publications and presentations on creative solutions to long-standing supply chain issues in health care.
  • Michael Wohlwend, consultant, Alpine Supply Chain Solutions. As a supply chain consultant, Wohlwend leverages 30 years of expertise assisting dozens of Fortune 500 companies in developing effective supply chain strategies.
  • Gary Hutchinson, president, Modality Solutions. Hutchinson is an industry leader in cold chain optimization and a regulatory expert in the global biopharmaceutical industry.

The panel will be joined by Elmhurst University faculty member Molly Tran, director of the Master of Public Health program, who will discuss how the COVID-19 vaccines were developed and how they work.

A Look Inside Operation Warp Speed will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21. The event is free but registration is required. A link to join the meeting will be sent upon registration.

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