Searching for the Next Pandemic: the Natural History & Archaeology of Infectious Disease with John Hessler
Course Title: Searching for the Next Pandemic: the Natural History & Archaeology of Infectious Disease
Instructor: John Hessler
Brought to you by Odyssey
February 01, 2024 - March 07, 2024 (6 Sessions)
Thursday, 6:30 PM ET
Virtual via Zoom
Course Description: From the diseases of the mummies of medieval Europe, to the preserved remains of long-dead mice in the Peruvian Andes, this course will examine what archaeological evidence, and historical manuscripts, along with the techniques of ancient DNA, can tell us about the long history of human disease outbreaks and pandemics. After a deep dive into the science behind the extraction of ancient DNA and metagenomic sequencing, participants will look into the natural history of human pathogens, and learn how virus hunters today are using recently excavated evidence, combined with historical records and new phylogenetic techniques, to shed light on the deep history of diseases like smallpox, and other viral, fungal, and bacterial human pathogens. The course will also survey the long history of zoonotic spillover, and consider what archaeological and historical evidence can tell us about the spread of more modern zoonotic diseases like HIV, Ebola, Influenza, and COVID-19 and finally, discuss what all this has to say about the probability of future pandemics.
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