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Overseen by the Surgeon General, the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is a diverse team of more than 6,500 highly qualified, public health professionals. Driven by a passion to serve the underserved, these men and women fill essential public health leadership and clinical service roles with the Nation's Federal Government agencies.

Scientists and healthcare professionals initially exhibited little concern over the Zika virus even after evidence of human infection was first identified in 1952; Zika appeared to be both rare and unassociated with morbidity or mortality. Around 2015 all of this changed as journalists, scientists, public health officials, and laypeople scrambled to learn about its varied modes of transmission and devastating consequences (e.g., birth defects and autoimmune disorders). Although research continues to rapidly evolve, this case study directs students to reliable scientific sources (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization) that will likely continue to provide the most current information in order to explore questions such as: Where did the virus come from? How does it spread? What can we do to prevent it? Students will also consider the public health challenges and possible solutions associated with emerging infectious diseases. The case was originally written for an upper-level biology or public health course in which students already have some basic background knowledge regarding viruses, vaccines, and infectious disease.

This integrative case study is based on real events that the author experienced with her ten-year-old daughter. Although the names have been changed, all of the events (symptoms, diagnoses and treatments, types of healthcare professionals) are recorded exactly as they occurred. Both asthma and pneumonia are common in the United States (and globally). Many of the drugs described in the case study are frequently prescribed for a wide variety of ailments. The four "episodes" that constitute the case cover 1) a study of asthma triggers, incidence and treatment; 2) side effects and possible medication errors associated with steroids; 3) causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia; and 4) the mechanism of action of two different antibiotics. The "epilogue" explores a few larger themes related to healthcare and public health (e.g., continuity of care, drug resistance, asthma prevention programs). The case study could be used in an undergraduate, upper-level, infectious disease, microbiology, public health or physiology course or in a graduate-level health professions program.

In this activity, students learn why evolution is at the heart of a world health threat. They will investigate the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance in such menacing diseases as tuberculosis and influenza. Students take on the role of staff at a public health agency who are trying to communicate the widespread problem of evolving disease-causing agents to the public.

This list provides a range of valuable resources including guidelines, organization sites, toolkits, and information for public health professionals. If you are looking for training on a specific topic, please visit CDC TRAIN.

In this case study, students follow "Mr. Okoro" as he makes the long journey with his sick daughter "Ada" to seek medical attention at the nearest clinic in Enugu, Nigeria. It is the rainy season, and "Dr. Fabian" from the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria has been called in to investigate a suspected outbreak of malaria. Students learn about the circumstances in Ada's background that may have led to her illness, and then adopt the perspective of Dr. Fabian as she investigates the outbreak. They consider the epidemiological triangle, the different stages of the Plasmodium parasite lifecycle and how it leads to malaria, and evaluate the broader societal factors and future implications of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. The case was designed for upper-level global health, public health, and human biology courses, but could also be adapted for general biology, health studies, infectious disease, and epidemiology courses.

Genetic and biotechnology can improve food security, the environment and public health. Yet dramatic innovation can lead to unintended consequences and present ethical challenges. In theory, the study of genetics and related cutting edge sciences are widely celebrated. But in practice, the words "gene" and "genetic engineering" often stir fear and misunderstanding when applied to biomedicine and farming. Intricate science scares people who don't understand risk and complexity. What is the potential of agricultural and human genetics? The commitment of the GLP is to promote public awareness of genetics and science literacy.

This interdisciplinary case study uses the format of a progressive disclosure to explore certain advances in biotechnology and evaluate them within the framework of societal needs, concerns and pressures.  When faced with a heart valve transplant, a high school student and her mother must decide between multiple approaches, some current and others emergent. Highlighted in this case study are the topics of xenotransplantation, 3D bioprinting and the mature minor rule. The case includes a role-playing, public hearing activity that can be used to explore many aspects at the interface of technology and culture: religious rights, parental rights, public health care policy and safety, animal rights, economic issues of organ marketing, and psychological issues of body image.  This case study was originally designed for first year collegiate classes (introduction to biology, introduction to psychology) but is also applicable to AP high school. The flexible nature of the case also allows for expansion of several aspects for advanced classes across multiple disciplines.

In this case study students are provided with information for piecing together the story of how forest fragmentation and biodiversity loss can affect the risk of Lyme disease transmission to humans. The case introduces the dilution effect, a widely accepted theory-and one of the most important ideas in disease ecology-which suggests that disease risk for humans decreases as the diversity of species in an area increases. It also explains how landscape fragmentation, one of the most common threats to biodiversity, can influence the risk of Lyme disease for humans. Students interpret and discuss various figures to develop a concept map that connects all the individual results of the story. Students gain an appreciation for the complexity of species interactions in an ecosystem, the effects of forest fragmentation on these interactions and the possible consequences for human health. This activity was developed for an undergraduate introduction to environmental sciences course under the topic of biodiversity and conservation, but would also be suitable for interdisciplinary studies interested in examining the connections between conservation and public health.

Six years ago, Yale University's Stephen Stearns and colleagues took advantage of a long-running study in Framingham, Massachusetts, to assess whether the effects of natural selection could be discerned among the people in the multigenerational study population. Over the last seven decades, public-health researchers have been monitoring the residents of Framingham, noting their vital statistics as well as blood sugar and cholesterol levels to understand the factors that lead to heart disease. As the initial group of research subjects got older, the study started to include their children, and then their grandchildren. The records provide a unique view of the health of a segment of the American population since 1948.

This case study was inspired by the Zika virus outbreak that occurred around the time of the 2016 Olympic Games. Many athletes were fearful of attending because of the link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly in infants. This concern, however, ran contrary to reports suggesting that the risk of athletes and other travelers becoming infected was remarkably low. Jessica, a fictional Olympic equestrian and the main character of the case, was unfortunately very unlucky and contracted Zika virus near the time of the Games. She ended up enduring negative health complications likely as a consequence of the infection.  This case was designed to be implemented in the nervous system unit of a human biology or anatomy and physiology course. The case is also appropriate for microbiology and public health courses.   Students are expected to have foundational knowledge in viral life cycles, and will explore disruptions in neurotransmission as well as abnormal fetal brain development.

OpenBiome (full name Microbiome Health Research Institute Inc.) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding safe access to fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) therapies. Founded by a small team of microbiologists, public health advocates, and concerned citizens, OpenBiome aims to significantly reduce the practical barriers for clinicians providing FMTs, while connecting scientists across studies and disciplines. 

WASHINGTON - The National Institutes of Health is sending its last remaining research chimpanzees into retirement - as soon as a federal sanctuary has room for them. The government already had declared that the use of humans' closest relative as a test subject was coming to an end. In 2013, the NIH said it would retire most of the several hundred government-owned chimps still living at research laboratories. But it set aside 50 animals to be on standby just in case they still were needed for a public-health emergency or some other extreme situation. Wednesday, the agency said those chimps' lab days are over, too.

While the "vaccine controversy" has made headlines since the late 1990s, the emergence and popularity of social media has created a public opinion space bursting with pseudoscience, debatable claims and anecdotes regarding the value and importance of childhood vaccines. Because college students get a good deal of news and information from these resources, it is imperative that they distinguish science from pseudoscience and do not perpetuate rumor and falsehoods.  In this case study, written for lower division non-science majors, students will view videos on the scientific method and a mock talk show, analyze data, and scrutinize social media posts.  One of the takeaway points is that if a post/blog/interview identifies a victim, villain, and hero then the student should suspect a story grounded in belief involving pseudoscience.  Following completion of the case, students will hopefully come to conclusions about vaccines based more in the realm of science rather than pseudoscience and continue to apply the scientific method when evaluating social media posts on other scientific topics.

" An anti-cancer drug reverses memory deficits in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers confirm in the journal Science."

This interrupted case study was inspired by and uses data from one of the largest commercial restaurant associated outbreaks of norovirus reported in the literature. It applies basic principles of epidemiology and outbreak investigation to a shellfish-linked norovirus outbreak at a Michelin star restaurant in the UK in 2009. The details of the case are taken directly from the report that was produced by the health protection agency and publications that followed. Students take on the role of an infection control team (ICT) that is responsible for identifying the extent and source of the outbreak. They are taken through different stages of the outbreak investigation and at each stage asked what their team would do in response to given pieces of information. Specifically, students uncover the scope and source of the outbreak using descriptive and basic analytical epidemiology methods. The case is suitable for first or second year introductory courses in microbiology, epidemiology, or other infectious disease related topics.

In this interrupted case study students analyze the complexities surrounding identification and confirmation of cancer clusters. The case challenges students to consider the evidence from two different perspectives; a local family physician representing the community, and a cluster investigation officer who has worked on several cancer cluster investigations. This case was inspired by the discussion about a possible cancer cluster in Clyde, Ohio, where around 20 cases of childhood cancer since 2001 fueled public concern, leading to an investigation by the Ohio department of health in 2006. This case was designed for introductory courses in biology and environmental sciences, taken by both science majors and non-science majors. In addition to introductory college classes, this case could also be used in advanced high school biology classes.

The Ebola epidemic that tore through West Africa in 2014 claimed 11,310 lives, far more than any previous outbreak. A combination of factors contributed to its savagery, among them a mobile population, crumbling public health systems, official neglect and hazardous burial practices. But new research suggests another impetus: The virus may have evolved a new weapon against its human hosts. In studies published on Thursday in the journal Cell, two teams of scientists report that a genetic mutation may have made Ebola more deadly by improving the virus's ability to enter human cells.

Known officially as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, the 40-year experiment run by Public Health Service officials followed 600 rural black men in Alabama with syphilis over the course of their lives, refusing to tell patients their diagnosis, refusing to treat them for the debilitating disease, and actively denying some of them treatment.

In 1932, the Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks. It was called the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male."