"Epidemic: Infectious Disease on a Changing Planet" is Focus of 2011 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science
"Epidemic: Infectious Disease on a Changing Planet" is the theme of the 2011 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, which begins on 22 January 2011. This series of six public lectures on consecutive Saturday mornings is designed as a free minicourse for the general public. The lectures take place from 11:00 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus. No registration is required.
This event features lectures given by Penn State research leaders whose labs are expanding the frontiers of scientific knowledge about infectious disease. The six lectures in the 2011 series include:
Just When You Thought You Were Safe . . . New Emerging Diseases Appear
Peter Hudson, Willaman Professor of Biology, director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State
22 January 2011
11:00 a.m.
100 Thomas Building (map)
Where do new emerging diseases come from? Who are the individuals responsible for transmission? And what are we going to do about it? Hear the latest research revelations about why some of these diseases are spreading and threatening populations even in the U.S. -- diseases such as SARS, Tick Borne Encephalitis, Monkeypox, HIV, and Flu. (Read more or watch a video recording of this lecture.
The Future of Infectious Disease in a Pharmaceutical Age
Andrew Read, professor of biology and entomology, Eberly College of Science Distinguished Senior Scholar at Penn State
29 January 2011
11:00 a.m.
100 Thomas Building (map)
Many of us are alive because powerful drugs or vaccines protected us or our parents or grandparents from infections that would have killed our great-grand parents. These miraculous pharmaceuticals effectively wage chemical warfare on the germs that harm us. Learn how the germs fight back. What sort of germs are pharmaceuticals creating? How will these newly evolved germs affect our health? (Read more or watch a video recording of this lecture.)
Vivek Kapur, professor of microbiology and infectious diseases, head of the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Penn State
5 February 2011
11:00 a.m.
100 Thomas Building (map)
Vaccines are essential to maintaining human and animal health. So why are effective vaccines still lacking for many important infectious diseases that cause untold human suffering and billions of dollars in economic loss? Learn about the research opportunities and challenges, and also the new approaches that scientists are taking to develop effective vaccines against the infectious diseases in the 21st century. (Read more or watch a video recording of this lecture.
Mary Poss, professor of biology and of veterinary and biomedical sciences at Penn State
12 February 2011
11:00 a.m.
100 Thomas Building (map)
New or newly recognized viruses present profound challenges to human and animal health and reflect the changing complexity of infectious disease in the 21st century. But are all virus infections harmful to our health? Learn about the fascinating interaction of viruses, both with other microbes and with the infected host, and how these viruses can be either beneficial or detrimental. (Read more or watch a video recording of this lecture.)
On the Eve of Eradication? Outbreak Dynamics and Vaccine Policy in the Developing World
Matthew Ferrari, assistant professor of biology at Penn State
19 February 2011
11:00 a.m.
100 Thomas Building (map)
Can a coordinated global vaccination effort rid our planet of infectious diseases? Why has no human pathogen been eliminated since smallpox, despite significant advances in technologies for vaccine development and delivery? Learn how the interactions between populations and disease pathogens for measles and meningitis create both biological and logistical challenges to the ultimate success of eradication. (Read more or watch a video recording of this lecture.)
Matt Thomas, professor of entomology at Penn State
26 February 2011
11:00 a.m.
100 Thomas Building (map)
Will climate change alter the risk of infectious diseases? If so, which diseases are likely to be affected? Will diseases such as malaria spread into the United States? Learn how current ecological research is being used to explore the links between environmental factors and disease transmission to better understand the consequences of climate change. (Read more or watch a video recording of this lecture.)
The Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science is a program of the Penn State Eberly College of Science that is designed for the enjoyment and education of residents of the Central Pennsylvania area and beyond. The 2011 series features Penn State faculty members in the Eberly College of Science and the College of Agricultural Sciences who participate in collaborative research in Penn State's Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. For more information or access assistance, contact the Eberly College of Science Office of Media Relations and Public Information by telephone at (814) 863-0901 or by e-mail at CLM29@psu.edu. More information about previous lectures in the series, including archived recordings of previous lectures, is available here.