The Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (IDM) is committed to training the next generation of scientists and public health professionals to enhance the control of infectious diseases in the human population.
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From summer scholar to published author
Public Health Undergraduate Scholars Program (PHUSP) 2024 graduate Vivian Thai co-authored and published a commentary with her PHUSP mentor, Toan Ha, MD, DrPH, assistant professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at Pitt Public Health. The article, “Beyond the Counter: The Case for Emergency Contraception Vending Machines on College Campuses,” explores how vending machines could help address barriers that often prevent students from accessing emergency contraception when they need it most.
From dual undergrad degrees to doctoral candidate
Mae Horne, doctoral student in infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, conducts research in the Silva Laboratory at the Rangos Research Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Her work focuses on how chikungunya virus, a re-emerging mosquito-borne pathogen, attaches to and enters human cells. A central question guiding her work is why certain viral strains cause more severe disease than others.
New laboratory models reveal how Oropouche virus affects brain cells
Research conducted in the laboratory of Amy Hartman, PhD, associate professor of infectious diseases and microbiology, and published in PLoS Pathogens, sheds light on why a mosquito-borne virus has been linked to serious neurological problems during an ongoing outbreak in South and Central America.