Human Dimension of Infectious Diseases

Human Dimension of Infectious Diseases

Group leaders:

E. Thomas Ewing

Affiliated Faculty:

Etka Bansal

Willandia Chaves

Sherrie Clark

Alasdair Cohen

Anna Duraj-Thatte

E. Thomas Ewing

Carla Finkielstein

Ron Fricker

Julie Gerdes

Rebecca J. Hester

Kathryn Hosig

Luke Juran

Thomas M Kerkering

Leigh-Anne Krometis

Iulia Lazar

Linsey Marr

T.M. Murali 

Peter Sforza

Wujin Sun 

Esra Büyüktahtakιn Toy

Clement Vinauger

Sophie Wenzel

Kang Xia

The thematic area of human dimensions of infectious disease brings interdisciplinary perspectives to ask how infectious diseases must be understood by documenting and interpreting human experiences of exposure, transmission, illness, prevention, treatment, cure, and recovery.

Scholarly Highlights of faculty:

Humanities Connection grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities ($50,000) will fund twelve faculty and the project director to engage is sustained discussion of curricular and pedagogical innovations related to human dimensions of infectious disease. Participating faculty include the following:

• John Aggrey, Department of Science, Technology, and Society
• Alasdair Cohen, Department of Population Health Sciences
• Jeremy Draghi, Department of Biological Sciences
• Yuba Gautam, Department of Population Health Sciences
• Julie Gerdes, Department of English Adrienne Holz, School of Comunication
• Rebecca Hester, Department of Science, Technology, and Society
• Cora Olson, Department of Science, Technology, and Society
• Edward Polanco, Department of History
• Patrick Ridge, Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
• Cori W. Ruktanonchai, Department of Population Health Sciences
• Nick Ruktanonchai, Department of Population Health Sciences

Research Collaboration Grant from 4-VA Consortium ($30,000) awarded to humanities and social sciences faculty to support undergraduate research assistants working in partnership with faculty from Virginia Tech (English, History, Science, Technology, and Society) and George Mason University (English and History and Art History)

Student highlight:

Sydney Murphy graduated in May 2024 with a major in microbiology and a minor in Spanish. Working as a research assistant for Professor Tom Ewing, she contributed to co-authored essays about the 1890 influenza in Mexico City published by Nursing Clio and Circulating Now (National Library of Medicine) and presented at research colloquia in October 2023 and January 2024 sponsored by the Human Dimensions of infectious Diseases thematic group.