Disease Detectives Event

What's New

Science Olympiad National Champions Visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
East Greenbush Central School District
April 26, 2017

What is the Disease Detectives Event?

In 1999, CDC partnered with the National Science Olympiad to establish the Disease Detectives Event as part of the Science Olympiad, a series of interscholastic tournaments for middle and high school students. The Disease Detectives Event is a case study-like, paper-based competition that

• Challenges students to apply the same scientific practices and methods, critical thinking, and reasoning skills used by CDC disease detectives
• Demonstrates the relevance of math and science in the context of current public health events occurring around the world
• Provides in-depth exposure to public health sciences, including epidemiology, to >16,000 middle and high school students each year

What is Science Olympiad?

Science Olympiad is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of science education and interest in science for students (grades K–12). Science Olympiad competitions

• Are premier rigorous academic interscholastic science tournaments with events held across the US
• Include teams from all 50 states
• Are grade-related and span all areas of science

What is CDC’s role in the Disease Detectives Event?

CDC Career Paths to Public Health

• Provides event supervisors for national tournaments, the regional middle school tournament held at Georgia State University and occasional invitational tournaments.
• Invites gold medal (first place) winners and coaches of the national high school (Division C) competition to visit its Atlanta headquarters and meet with CDC scientists and researchers
• Works with the National Science Olympiad Biology subcommittee to provide “emergency” event materials for regional and state tournaments
• Maintains web-based event materials that coaches and students may use to prepare for the Disease Detectives event.

Learn more about Science Olympiad

• Disease Detectives Event for high (division C) and middle (division B) school students
• Events for elementary (division A) school students