Although the U.S. public expects quick and massive government response to natural and man-made disasters such as flu pandemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, terror attacks and mass school shootings, federal and state legislative budget cutters have quietly eliminated 45,000 public health jobs during the last several years, according to Nicole Lurie, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services. That fact and its implications were among the points she emphasized in this seventeen minute interview at the University of Pennsylvania. In the discussion with Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Chileshe Nkonde-Price, MD, Lurie, MD, MSPH, also pointed out various areas of the health-related disaster response field that appear ripe for further scholarly study. This is the second in a new series of video/audio programs jointly produced by LDI and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars program.