Montgomery College Hosts Spectrum Lecture on Arboviruses

Dr. Michael J. Turell, principle investigator for the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), will speak at Montgomery College-Germantown on Monday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the College’s 2010 Spectrum Lecture Series. The talk will take place in Globe Hall, which is located in the High Technology and Science Center, 20200 Observation Drive, Germantown, Md. This event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Turell’s talk, “Arboviruses: Why Are They Important and How Are They Studied,” covers arboviruses and how they are transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, sand flies. His talk will briefly describe how arboviruses affect human health. Furthermore, Dr. Turell will discuss a field study that his research group conducted in Peru that illustrates how these viruses are studied in the real world.

Like all Spectrum Lectures, Dr. Turell’s presentation is designed for a nonscientific audience, enabling scientists, students and the community to learn about ground-breaking advancements in science.

Dr. Turell has been a principal investigator at USAMRIID for more than 25 years. He received his B.S. and M.S. in entomology from Cornell University, his Master of Public Health from Tulane University, and his Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley. His principal interest has been the study of factors affecting the ability of mosquitoes to transmit various arboviruses. In addition, he has conducted research on the development of vaccines for several mosquito-borne viruses and the development and evaluation of antigen and RNA detection assays.

For questions or to request accommodations, please contact Susan Bontems at 240-567-7740 or at susan.bontems@montgomerycollege.edu. For additional information on Spectrum Lectures, please visit our Web site at www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/spectrumlectures/