Doctor on Call

Alla Shapiro was born in Ukraine, USSR, and was a first physician-responder to the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. Following years of discrimination as a Jewish citizen of the Soviet Union, Alla and her extended family immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s. She completed a residency in general pediatrics at Georgetown University Hospital, followed by a fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. From 2003 to 2019, Dr. Shapiro worked as a medical officer at the Counterterrorism and Emergency Coordination Staff at the US Food and Drug Administration.

“Alla Shapiro took me along on her odyssey, from the Soviet Union to the streets of Washington, DC, from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to the COVID-19 pandemic, all the while filling me with emotion and having me marvel at the human capacity to resettle and build a better life." —Boris Lushniak, MD, MPH Dean and Professor, University of Maryland School of Public Health, Former Acting US Surgeon General and Assistant Commissioner for Counterterrorism Policy, FDA"This ground level, personal account of the Chernobyl catastrophe by a Ukrainian pediatrician is a riveting, fast read…the reader gains a keen understanding of the ethical dilemma of conscripted physicians who were forced to endure, as they worked tirelessly to understand and treat a unique spectrum of radiation-associated injuries that they had never before encountered. The relevance of Dr. Shapiro's story to today's COVID-19 pandemic and to potential future radiation accidents, malicious use of radioactive materials and nuclear war, is highlighted in the last chapters of the book…this is a must read.” —Nicholas Dainiak MD, FACP, Clinical Professor Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine“A wonderful story of human resilience in the face of tremendous adversity….In our current world of so much uncertainty this memoir gives strength to the human spirit and brings important lessons to keep in mind as we face potential untold consequences from other disasters to come.” —Nelson Chao, MD, MBA Donald D. and Elizabeth G. Cooke Professor, Duke University“Dr. Shapiro’s firsthand experience caring for victims of the Chernobyl disaster to her distinguished academic and regulatory career in the USA gives her a truly unique perspective on the intersection between public health and politics. These lessons are as timely for us today America as they were in 1986 during the Chernobyl disaster.” —Chris H. Takimoto, MD, PHD, Senior Vice President, Gilead Sciences“This story is an intimate, first-hand, personal account of Alla Shapiro, MD., Ph.D. as she endures the trials and tribulations caused by the lies, deceptions, and harsh policies of the socialist regime in the USSR before, during, and after the 1986 Chernobyl radiation disaster….Few would be able to endure the same hardships that Alla experienced along her journey, but her passion and love for medicine and family gave her the strength and persistence. I wonder what she will tackle next?” —Bert W. Maidment, PHD, Radiation Nuclear Countermeasures Program, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health USA“Dr. Shapiro chronicles her life in a country that discriminated against women and Jews and yet rises above it to be a hero, a physician, a scientist and a wonderful mother. From the worst nuclear disaster to a pandemic, Dr. Shapiro reveals that governments that were not prepared and lessons were not learned. Her story is emotional, inspiring and thought provoking. It is a must read for everyone.” —Laurie E. Sower, PHD, Chrysalis BioTherapeutics, Inc

• Table of ContentsIntroduction Prologue - The Future Looks Different from the Past PART I Chernobyl: Doctor on Call Chapter 1- Nuclear Spring, 1986Chapter 2 - Rx For Radiation: Take as Directed Chapter 3 – Olga Leaves and Natasha ReturnsChapter 4 - The Human Toll of DisplacementChapter 5- A Radioactive Fallacy Chapter 6- Doctors on CallChapter 7 - Red Wine Improves Doctor-Patient CommunicationsPART II An Extraordinary JourneyChapter 8- We Left Behind Years of Prejudice and Lies Chapter 9 -Citizens Without the Country Chapter 10- Fear and FortitudeChapter 11- An Immigrant’s GuideChapter 12 - The Tale of the Wandering JewChapter 13 – Prequel the “Trans-Siberian” ExpressChapter 14 - This Was No “Roman Holiday”Chapter 15 - Live Hard, Sell Hard: The Americana Flea Market in RomeChapter 16 – The Pretty Woman Guide to HitchhikingChapter 17 – Global Historic Events Unite UsChapter 18 – Barbie Also Wears a StethoscopeChapter 19 - My Medical Residency, Take TwoChapter 20 – A Highway LegendChapter 21 –Taking Root in AmericaPART III Looking Back to Protect the FutureChapter 22 – Recipient of the Order of the Nervous NeutronChapter 23 – Children of ChernobylChapter 24 - At the Roots of a New Drug DiscoveryChapter 25 – The Pursuit of One Gram of IndralinChapter 26 – Chernobyl: Twenty Years AfterChapter 27 – On the Shoulders of GiantsChapter 28 – Who Will Live and Who Will Die?Chapter 29 - Chernobyl: Thirty Years AfterChapter 30- Wisdom Comes with Experience Chapter 31- Converging Catastrophes: Chernobyl and COVID-19 Chapter 32- A Disaster will Strike Again: Are We Prepared?EpilogueReferences