As U.S. Measles Cases Rise and Biological Threats Remain Under Surveillance, Ashish Jha to Headline ConV2X New York

Against a backdrop of rising U.S. measles cases and continued surveillance of H5 bird flu, Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Co-Founder and CEO of BioRadar, will headline the ConV2X Smart Tech Transformation in Healthcare & Life Sciences Executive Summit, taking place October 29–30, 2026, at the Historic GE Building, ILR Conference Center, in New York City.

Jha will deliver the opening keynote, “Misdiagnosed: The Real Drivers of Healthcare Costs and How to Fix Them.” His participation and keynote have been independently announced by BioRadar.

The event comes at a notable moment for public health and healthcare preparedness.

As of August 20, 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,777 confirmed measles cases in the United States, compared with 2,289 confirmed cases reported for the full year of 2025. CDC reports that 94% of confirmed 2026 cases are associated with outbreaks.

On August 25, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed two measles-associated deaths, the Commonwealth’s first measles-associated deaths in 35 years. Both individuals were unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County. Pennsylvania has confirmed 393 measles cases across 28 counties thus far in 2026.

The CDC also continues to monitor H5 bird flu. The agency states that highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses are widespread in wild birds worldwide and have caused outbreaks in U.S. poultry and dairy cattle. Sporadic human infections have occurred, primarily following exposure to infected animals. CDC currently assesses the risk to the general U.S. public from bird flu as low.

From Healthcare Costs to Health-System Preparedness
Jha’s ConV2X keynote will open a two-day program examining the implementation of smart technologies across healthcare and life sciences.

The current ConV2X agenda describes his keynote as a challenge to conventional thinking about healthcare costs, outcomes and system fragility, examining where underlying failures lie and what reform requires.

Jha previously served as White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. He is now Co-Founder and CEO of BioRadar.

BioRadar describes its work as focused on biosurveillance and biological threat detection and has publicly identified Jha’s work with the company as focused on pandemic preparedness and biological threats.

Biosecurity & Pandemic Preparedness Takes the Stage
Following Jha’s opening keynote and other morning sessions, ConV2X will convene a dedicated panel:
Biosecurity & Pandemic Preparedness: Hantavirus, Novel Pathogens & the Role of Digital Health Surveillance
According to the current ConV2X agenda, the session will examine lessons from recent hantavirus outbreaks and emerging zoonotic threats, including what these events reveal about preparedness, surveillance and response.

The scheduled discussion includes:

• How AI, telehealth and digital surveillance can accelerate detection and response
• What hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and public health officials should be doing now
• How healthcare systems can prepare for emerging biological threats
• The role of digital technologies in surveillance and response

The session places biosecurity within a broader ConV2X program focused on the technologies, governance and operational decisions shaping healthcare transformation. The panel will covene senior leaders from health systems, government, academia, public health and emerging technology, including:

• Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP, CHEP — Assistant VP, Office of Biopreparedness and Emergency Management; Chief Biopreparedness Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals
• Nikki Romanik — President, BioRadar
• Eric Wei, MD — CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
• José A. Pagán, PhD — Professor and Chair, Department of Public Health Policy and Management, NYU School of Global Public Health; Chair, Board of Directors, NYC Health + Hospitals
• Andrew Philip, PhD — Deputy Director, Learning and Diffusion Group, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)

Why Now
Public health data provides an immediate context for the October discussion.

- CDC reports 2,777 confirmed U.S. measles cases as of August 20, with 36 new outbreaks reported in 2026 and 94% of confirmed cases associated with outbreaks.

- Pennsylvania’s Department of Health confirmed on August 25 that two unvaccinated Lancaster County residents died in measles-associated deaths — the state’s first such deaths in 35 years.

At the same time, CDC continues to monitor H5 bird flu in animals and humans while maintaining that the current risk to the general public is low.

These developments provide a timely backdrop for ConV2X discussions examining preparedness, surveillance, healthcare infrastructure and the role of emerging technologies in healthcare and public health.

About

Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH is Co-Founder and CEO of BioRadar and served as White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. BioRadar announced Jha’s participation in ConV2X in June 2026, confirming that he will deliver the opening keynote. Subsequent key panelists have been confirmed for the event to discuss biosecurity and pandemic preparedness for the October 29–30 New York summit.

ConV2X Smart Tech Transformation in Healthcare & Life Sciences is a two-day executive summit produced by Partners in Digital Health. The 2026 program focuses on smart technology implementation across healthcare and life sciences, including AI, telehealth, digital health, biosecurity, cybersecurity, governance and enterprise transformation.

October 29–30, 2026
Historic GE Building: ILR Conference Center, 12th Floor
570 Lexington Avenue: New York, NY
Early Bird Registration is open at https://telehealth.conv2xsymposium.com/shop

Contact Information

Tory Cenaj

Founder and Publisher

Partners in Digital Health

(1) 2032433063

t.cenaj@partnersindigitalhealth.com