GRASS VALLEY, CA, Oct. 31, 2016 – Sierra Science Series presents Dr. Elizabeth Andrews in a discussion about the several vector-borne diseases that are significant public health issues in California. The presentation will be held on Tuesday evening, November 8 from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, in the Multipurpose Center, N-12. Come early and enjoy a meet-and-greet and refreshments at 6:00 pm.
The California Department of Public Health conducts statewide surveillance, prevention, and control programs for these diseases which are transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas, or rodents. This presentation will focus on tick and flea-borne diseases that are present in northern California. Dr. Andrews will use these as examples to describe vector and disease ecology, CDPH’s surveillance and prevention efforts, and personal protective measures to help reduce your exposure to these diseases.
About our speaker
Dr. Elizabeth Andrews has over a decade of experience in the medical entomology field. She worked for five seasons as the entomologist for the Norfolk County Mosquito Control Project surveying for West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis viruses in the greater Boston area. She holds a BSc in biology and a MSc in entomology, both from the University of Massachusetts, and a PhD in entomology from the University of Kentucky. Her primary research focus was mosquitoes and how interactions with their native microflora and Wolbachia endosymbionts can influence physiology and pathogen transmission. She also has experience working with bedbugs, ticks and tick-borne pathogens. She received a competitive fellowship from the National Research Council to conduct postdoctoral research at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases to investigate how environmental factors influence virus transmission in mosquitoes. Dr. Andrews is currently employed as an associate public health biologist in the Vector-Borne Disease Section of the California Department of Public Health.
This presentation is free, and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend. The Nevada County Campus is located at 250 Sierra College Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945. Parking is $3 on campus and permits can be purchased at the kiosk machine at the main entrance to the campus. For more information about this presentation and others in this series, contact the series coordinator, Jason Giuliani at: jgiuliani@sierracollege.edu. Check out other upcoming presentations offered at Sierra College and its 4 campus locations at: www.sierracollege.edu/events.