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TZID:America/New_York
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DTSTART:20241103T020000
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TZNAME:EST
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DTSTART:20250309T020000
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DESCRIPTION:Valley fever is an emerging fungal infection caused by inhalat
 ion of the spores of Coccidioides spp. Since 2000\, California has seen o
 ver 9-fold increase in the incidence of Valley fever\, with 2023 reportin
 g more cases than any other year on record. Access to moisture and nutrie
 nts is thought to support the growth of Coccidioides in soils\, while soi
 l disturbance activities and wind erosion may aid the aerosolization and 
 transport of spores. The fungus contains genes associated with the breakd
 own of animal protein\, giving rise to the hypothesis that rodent hosts s
 erve as key nutrient sources. In this talk\, I will provide evidence that
  swings between extreme drought and extreme precipitation are amplifying 
 incidence in California. I will examine work to uncover the role that wil
 dfires play in dispersion of spores\, using both quasi-experimental study
  and ongoing efforts to detect the fungus in the air using unmanned aircr
 aft systems. Finally\, I will discuss findings from an ongoing longitudin
 al experimental field study seeking to understand the role of small mamma
 ls and their burrows in determining where Coccidioides is in the soil. I 
 will conclude with thoughts on how climate change may be increasing the t
 ransmission of other environmentally-transmitted fungal pathogens\, inclu
 ding those endemic to the eastern United States. Jennifer Head is an Assi
 stant Professor in the Epidemiology Department and a member of the Instit
 ute for Global Change Biology. Her research applies mathematical and stat
 istical models to understand the impact of climate variation\, environmen
 tal disturbances\, and zoonotic hosts on infectious disease dynamics. A m
 ajor focus of her work is on the emergence of environmentally acquired fu
 ngal infections\, such as Valley fever. Her work combines methods from ep
 idemiology\, data science\, econometrics\, environmental health\, and eco
 logy. She collaborates closely with state and federal agencies to help co
 nvey findings into actionable public health outcomes.\n\nAdmission:\nFree
 \n\nFood:\nLunch\n\nDetails URL:\nhttps://medicine.yale.edu/event/cch-sem
 inar-jennifer-head/\n
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240415T125000
DTSTAMP:20260604T122532Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240415T120000
LOCATION:URL: https://bit.ly/2024HeadSeminar
SEQUENCE:0
STATUS:Confirmed
SUMMARY:YSPH Climate Change and Health Seminar with Dr. Jennifer Head\, "T
 he role of climate change\, wildfire\, and rodents in the emergence of Va
 lley fever in California"
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