History Happy Hour: Doctor on Call

In a true-life drama pitted against a lack of disaster preparedness and bureaucratic mismanagement, Dr. Alla Shapiro relays her first-hand experience as a first physician-responder to the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine on April 26, 1986.

Dr. Shapiro, a physician, Soviet Jewish refugee, and most recently an author, will share excerpts from her memoir, Doctor on Call: Chernobyl Responder, Jewish Refugee, Radiation Expert (2021).  Her story is one of extraordinary resilience in the face of adversity.  As a first physician-responder in a pivotal moment in global history, she was forced to engage in bureaucratic lies and cover-ups within the Soviet government, and endure personal and professional discrimination as a Jewish citizen in the USSR.  Dr. Shapiro will share how her passion for medicine and love of family gave her the strength to ultimately use her difficult experiences to benefit humanity.