What do Phil Hardberger, Brigadier General Robert McDermott, Tom Frost and Dr. Larry Schlesinger have in common? They've all been awarded the title of "International Citizen of the Year" by the World Affairs Council.
2021 honoree Dr. Larry Schlesinger has been president and CEO of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute since 2017. Due to research efforts and advancements under his leadership, Texas Biomed scientists were ready to take on therapy and vaccine model development.
The San Antonio-based institute jumpstarted its safety and efficacy testing within weeks of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, which helped the first COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccine get to market as quickly and safely as possible.
What has Dr. Schlesinger's tenure taught him about the life-saving power of scientific discovery? How has Texas Biomed made the community safer through its efforts?
A year after the emergence of COVID-19, how does Schlesinger view the U.S.' and Texas' pandemic progress? What does he think are the biggest challenges for the scientific research community moving forward?
Dr. Schlesinger will be officially recognized by the World Affairs Council at its first-ever Virtual Award Celebration at 7 p.m. on March 24th, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Barry Bloom of Harvard University. Click here for more info.
Guest: Dr. Larry Schlesinger, president and CEO of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute and the World Affairs Council's "2021 International Citizen of the Year"
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*This interview was recorded on Thursday, March 11.