Interdisciplinary Disease Ecology Across Scales

IDEAS is a new approach to training doctoral students in the interdisciplinary sciences of infectious disease biology. Started by myself, Dr. Vanessa Ezenwa (ecology and veterinary medicine), and Dr. Duncan Krause (microbiology), and housed by the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, it aims to provide students with deep knowledge about the ecology of infectious diseases and transferable skills useful across sectors, including government, academia, and industry. Highly selective cohorts of 6-8 students will be chosen each year for five years beginning in Fall 2016. Students are provided with special courses and workshops that focus on developing interdisciplinary research skills and placed in experiential learning environments like overseas field sites and industry internships, and tasked with producing an integrative capstone project. More information available on the IDEAS website.