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How Zombies and Vampires Help Me Grapple with Disaster
The movie Outbreak changed my life. I watched it as a teenager and instantly grew enamored with the idea of chasing dangerous diseases in a hazmat suit.
Now, for over a decade, I’ve had the privilege of living that dream. In 2012, I joined the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During my time with CDC, I traveled to west and central Africa to fight the two biggest Ebola outbreaks ever, led the investigation of a newly discovered smallpox-like virus in the country of Georgia, and vaccinated raccoons for rabies from an airplane in Ohio. And, during the worst acute public health crisis in a century, I oversaw COVID-19 contact tracing for New York City, perhaps the most challenging role of them all. These days, I split my time between treating patients with tuberculosis (TB) and working for Conservation International, an environmental nonprofit, where I advance public health in a new way: by protecting nature for people, such as by keeping tropical forests standing to prevent the emergence of novel infectious diseases.
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How Zombies and Vampires Help Me Grapple with Disaster | Atmos
In my work tackling pandemics and climate change, I’ve found unexpected motivation from works of horror.
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