Zoonoses! Who, What, Where, When and Why?

Zoonoses! Who, What, Where, When and Why?

Rabies! West Nile Fever! Toxoplasmosis! Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever!

Your pet cat...the racoon in your trash can...a hike on the Eno...a summer barbeque...all can be potentially deadly in Durham!

What types of diseases can jump from animals to humans? Who infects who? Why do diseases spread between humans and animals? When does disease transmission happen? Where are you most likely to be infected? How do humans contribute to disease transmission?

Join Melody Xiao, a PhD student in the Duke University Nunn Lab and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar, to learn all about the zoonotic diseases in your backyard!

Melody Xiao (she/they) is a second-year PhD student at Duke University in the Nunn Lab and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar. Her research interests include zoonotic disease ecology, One Health, and the impact of anthropogenic change on disease dynamics. Currently, her work focuses on how network sciences can be applied to better understand disease transmission at the human-animal interface in a variety of disease systems, from farm animals in North Carolina to rodents in rural Madagascar. When not working, Melody can be found at home with her two cats, reading in a bookstore, or learning how to rock climb.