Pathogens in Pop Culture: Fungal Pathogens and The Last of Us

Could a fungus cause the next pandemic? If you’ve watched HBO’s hit series ‘The Last of Us’ or played the popular video game, then you may be familiar with the concept: a mass outbreak of an infectious fungus turns humans into zombies. But could the scenario played out in ‘The Last of Us’ actually happen in real life? Join hosts Lauren Sauer and Rachel Lookadoo and special guest Dr. Arturo Casadevall as they take a closer look at the science behind fungal pathogens and separate myth from reality.

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Guest

Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD

Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Dr. Casadevall focuses on host defense mechanisms, how fungi cause disease, and in the development of antibody-based therapies for infectious diseases.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACasadevall1

Hosts

Lauren Sauer, MSc

Lauren is an Associate Professor in the College of Public Health, Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Core Faculty of the UNMC Global Center for Health Security. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and the director of the Special Pathogens Research Network.

She previously served as Director of Operations for the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness where she ran the inpatient COVID19 biobank and served on the COVID19 research steering committee for JHU. Lauren’s research focuses on human subjects research in bio-emergencies and disasters, in particular, ethical implementation of research and navigating the regulatory environment. The goal of her research is to provide health care facilities with the tools needed to conduct a clinical and operational research response in emergencies.

Rachel Lookadoo, JD

Rachel Lookadoo is an Assistant Professor in the Epidemiology department of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and serves as the Deputy Director of the Center for Biosecurity, Biopreparedness, and Emerging Infectious Diseases. She also acts as the Director of Public Health Policy for the Water, Climate, and Health program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Ms. Lookadoo’s background is as an attorney, and she focuses on the various legal and regulatory issues that can arise in emergency preparedness and response. She specializes in public health impacts of climate change, healthcare surge events, isolation/quarantine law, crisis standards of care, infectious disease response, and general legal preparedness. Ms. Lookadoo also conducts emergency preparedness trainings and assessments for public health departments and healthcare facilities nationally. Ms. Lookadoo received her Juris Doctor degree from American University Washington College of Law, and her Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University.

Resources

Can a Fungus Cause a COVID-Style Pandemic? https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/popmedicine/103449?vrw=no

Why Fungal Diseases Are an Increasing Threat: https://magazine.jhsph.edu/2022/why-fungal-diseases-are-increasing-threat  

NETEC Resource Library: https://repository.netecweb.org

About NETEC

A Partnership for Preparedness

The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center’s mission is to set the gold standard for special pathogen preparedness and response across health systems in the U.S. with the goals of driving best practices, closing knowledge gaps, and developing innovative resources.

Our vision is a sustainable infrastructure and culture of readiness for managing suspected and confirmed special pathogen incidents across the United States public health and health care delivery systems.

For more information, visit NETEC on the web at www.netec.org.

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