EIS in the News

National and International Articles

• StoryCorps Atlanta: Combating Ebola On The Front Lines
  Dr. Anne Purfield and Dr. Melissa Rolfes talked about being among the first CDC employees to arrive in Sierra Leone to combat Ebola.”
  WABE 90.1 FM
  January 26, 2016
• Can a U.S. military Ebola treatment center slow Ebola in one hard-hit city?
  When EIS officer Morgan Hennessey arrived in Ganta, Liberia, Ebola seemed to be in a quiet phase — until another person infected with the virus arrived: “It’s like a fire. It just takes one spark.”
  Washington Post
  November 2, 2014
• Ebola outbreak in US unlikely, CDC officer says
  EIS officer Deborah Hastings, assigned to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, tells a meeting of healthcare workers the chance of an Ebola epidemic in the United States is rare.
  Columbus Telegram
  October 30, 2014
• U.S. Ebola fighters head to Africa, but will the military and civilian effort be enough?
  For EIS officer Katie Curran, in rural Sierra Leone, making trips into the bush to meet with village leaders and discuss ways to contain the Ebola virus can be a challenge. Sometimes, there is no road.
  Washington Post
  October 25, 2014
• Doctors, aid workers fight Ebola in West Africa, then fear of disease in U.S. 
  When David Schnabel, EIS officer assigned to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, returned to the U.S. after training Sierra Leoneans on Ebola safety protocols, he didn’t talk much about his trip with people he didn’t know: “I understood the emotional response to Ebola … I consciously was careful who I told.”
  Washington Post
  October 24, 2014
• CDC workers share emotional toll of Ebola
  In Sierra Leone, EIS officer Michelle Dynes and EIS alum Anne Purfield worked in an office next to an Ebola hospital. Of the many precautions they took to avoid contracting the virus, staying several feet away from people was the most difficult.
  11 Alive Atlanta
  October 22, 2014
• When Caring Kills: Ebola Kills Nurses Who Touched Baby
  Two EIS officers and an EIS alum talk about how Ebola has turned Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea into countries where giving comfort can be fatal and hospitals are feared as dangerous places.
  NBC News
  October 21, 2014
• What We Can Learn from the People Who Are Tracking Ebola
  EIS officer Greg Raczniak says the most important aspect of contact tracing is clear communication.
  Business Insider
  October 20, 2014
• Brit ‘Disease Detective’ Helps Ebola-Hit Dallas
  Dr. Seema Yasmin, an EIS alum and Dallas Morning News reporter, answers city residents’ questions about Ebola.
  Sky News
  October 15, 2014
• Disease detectives help contain Ebola in Dallas
  Five hours after the first case of Ebola was confirmed in the United States, EIS officer Charnetta Smith was on her way to Dallas as part of a CDC team sent to work alongside local health officials.
  USA Today
  October 12, 2014
• On Ebola’s front lines in Liberia
  EIS officer Allison Arwady arrived in Liberia as the Ebola epidemic was overwhelming the country’s health care system.
  Yale Medicine
  October 11, 2014
• CDC takes to Twitter to answer Ebola concerns
  EIS officer Kelsey Mirkovic and other CDC experts use Twitter to answer the public’s questions about Ebola. One response was re-Tweeted 4,000 times.
  CBS Evening News
  October 8, 2014
• When Ebola hits, contact tracing is a critical process
  EIS officer Kelsey Mirkovic describes how CDC, the World Health Organization, and Doctors Without Borders worked with the Ministry of Health to conduct contact tracing in the wake of Senegal’s first confirmed case of Ebola.
  USA Today
  October 6, 2014
• For CDC team in Dallas, the search is on for those who had contact with Ebola patient
  EIS officer Matt Karwowski conducts in-person interviews and home visits, gathering details and sharing information to help assess a person’s risk level.
  The Washington Post
  October 4, 2014
• Meet a Disease Detective Hunting Ebola in Dallas
  In Dallas, Texas, EIS officer Matt Karwowski is a contact tracer—a job that is part medicine, part social work, and part investigator.
  Time Magazine
  October 3, 20124
• Ebola en RDC: reportage à Lokolia, épicentre de l’épidémie
  Interview with EIS officer Christopher Hsu about his work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  rfi (in French)
  October 2, 2014
• CDC disease detectives dispatched to West Africa to fight Ebola
  EIS officer Leisha Nolen is part of the CDC team working to stop the Ebola virus in West Africa. “This is not going to stop on its own,” she said.
  CBS 46 News
  September 29, 2014
• “How Can I Not Go?”: CDC Doctor on Going to Sierra Leone During Ebola Outbreak
  EIS officer Kimberly Pringle has been to other global health trouble spots and knows there are risks. But she would rather put her skills to use than watch from the sidelines: “As a global citizen, how can I not go?”
  GPB News
  September 17, 2014
• Doctor Shortage Hampers Ebola Fight, Iowa Expert Says
  Dr. Samir Koirala, EIS officer assigned to Iowa Department of Health, helped set up an electronic Ebola contact tracking system in Sierra Leone. Dr. Koirala relates his observations, including the severe shortage of health care workers.
  The Des Moines Register
  September 17, 2014
• The Reason Ebola Isn’t Being Stopped
  EIS officer Rebecca Levine arrives in West Africa with a new system developed by CDC to help make contract tracing—a mainstay in controlling epidemics—more effective.
  CNN
  September 11, 2014
• What You Bring When You’re Going into an Ebola Outbreak
  EIS officer Rebecca Merrill describes what supplies she packed for her deployment to Liberia.
  Time
  August 12, 2014
• Inside the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center Tackling Ebola
  Time
  August 9, 2014
• CDC’s disease detectives face dangerous but fulfilling task
  EIS alum Dr. Seema Yasmin talks about the dangerous but rewarding work of being an EIS officer.
  The Dallas Morning News
  August 2, 2014
• CDC ‘disease detective’ talks about challenges of fighting spread of Ebola virus
  EIS officer Leisha Nolen, a pediatrician and genetics researcher, talks about cultural disbelief in the infection and other challenges to fighting the spread of Ebola in West Africa.
  The Washington Post
  August 1, 2014
• New Software Tool Helps Track Exposures in Ebola Outbreak
  For the first time, disease detectives working on the Ebola outbreak in Guinea and Liberia are using a new software tool to help find people exposed to and possibly infected by the virus.
  reliefweb
  April 30, 2014

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CDC 24/7

• Disease Detective: Erik
  EIS officer talks about the impact of Ebola on everyday life in Liberia.
  September 30, 2014
• Disease Detective: Rupa
  EIS officer trained medical workers in Guinea to screen river passenger for Ebola symptoms.
  September 30, 2014
• Disease Detective: Ruth
  EIS officer will rely on her familiarity with African culture to gain community buy-in during her deployment to Sierra Leone.
  September 22, 2014
• Disease Detective: Rebecca
  EIS officer leaves for West Africa with communication equipment to assist in efforts to improve health messaging at the community level.
  August 13, 2014
• Disease Detective: Meredith
  EIS officer talks about her first encounter with an Ebola patient during her second tour of duty helping fight Ebola in West Africa.
  August 12, 2014
• Disease Detective: Greg
  EIS alum helps with contact tracing, a task vital to controlling the Ebola virus.
  August 12, 2014
• Disease Detective: Kelsey
  EIS officer tells about her work as a CDC disease detective responding to the Ebola outbreak.
  August 11, 2014
• Disease Detective: Leisha
  EIS officer educated people in West Africa to recognize new cases and prevent spread of Ebola.
  August 11, 2014
• Disease Detective: Kari
  EIS officer says teamwork is an important part of controlling the Ebola virus.
  August 21, 2014

Radio and Television

• El testimonio de una de las epidemiólogas que estuvo en Guinea estudiando el ébola
  EIS alum Dr. Fatima Coronado talks about investigating Ebola in Guinea.
  CNN Chile (in Spanish)
  November 4, 2014
• CDC Doctor in Sierra Leone Credits Local Health Workers
  EIS officer Kimberly Pringle works with local public health teams in Kenema, Sierra Leone, to help slow the spread of the Ebola virus. Her first and inflexible rule while working in West Africa is “touch no one.”
  GPB On Second Thought
  October 23, 2014
• When Holding an Orphaned Baby Can Mean Contracting Ebola
  An EIS officer and an alum talk about Ebola’s devastating toll on Sierra Leone’s health care workers: “By the time we arrived, more than 20 nurses had died from Ebola.”
  NPR StoryCorps
  October 11, 2014
• CDC’s Ebola workers find funding is strapped
  In Sierra Leone, EIS officer Bridgette Gleason has seen tragedy every day. But to really make a difference, “you have to focus on what you can do.”
  NPR Marketplace
  October 8, 2014
• Meet the disease detectives tracking Ebola at CDC
  Inside CDC’s Emergency Operations Center, EIS officer Aimee Summers is one of about 150 CDC staff members working to keep pace with the Ebola epidemic. 
  PBS News Hour
  October 8, 2014
• Inside the work of Ebola “Disease Detectives”
  As public health officials in Dallas, Texas, continue to track the well-being of people who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus, EIS officer Jennifer Hunter and EIS alum Tracy Creek give some insight into the type of people who do this work.
  NPR Marketplace
  October 7, 2014
• Medical experts answer Ebola questions
  EIS alum Dr. Seema Yasmin joins Drs. Sanjay Gupta and Ian Lipkin to answer questions about Ebola from social media.
  CNN
  October 2, 2014
• CDC doctor talks about Ebola outbreak
  EIS officer Leisha Nolen talks about the devastating effects of Ebola in West Africa and efforts to control the virus. 
  WSB-TV Channel 2 Atlanta
  September 19, 2014
• Tracking the Ebola Virus in West Africa
  EIS officer Rebecca “Bex” Levine talks about the stories behind the numbers, the logistical challenges of contact tracing, and the need for resources in the fight against the Ebola virus.
  CNN
  September 18, 2014
• Video Diary Part 2: CDC Officer Deploys to Fight Ebola
  EIS officer Rebecca “Bex” Levine talks about an Ebola case involving a baby.
  CNN
  September 18, 2014
• Video Diary Part 1: CDC Officer on Ebola Fight
  EIS officer Rebecca “Bex” Levine describes her deployment to Sierra Leone during the 2014 Ebola outbreak response.
  CNN
  September 16, 2014
• Taking a lead role to contain Ebola
  EIS officer Meredith Dixon, who had two tours of duty in West Africa, talks about CDC’s efforts on the ground to contain the Ebola epidemic in Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
  Radio New Zealand
  August 21, 2014

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2017

• Robin Cree
  Newark Grad Part of CDC’s ‘Disease Detectives’
  September 14, 2017
  Newark Native, Robyn Cree, begins her work as a CDC disease detective who analyzes children’s mental health issues and addresses the needs of children during public health emergencies. The inspiration for her career path and her love for science were spawned by a teacher who made science fun in her Newark High School chemistry class. Cree is grateful for a mentor who introduced her to CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service during her undergraduate internship. Cree earned her doctorate in chronic disease epidemiology.
• Elisabeth Hesse
  Moses Lake Native Accepted to CDC Program
  September 12, 2017
  Elisabeth Hesse reaches a career milestone by joining CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, following eight years of service to the U.S. Army where she taught techniques to improve public health. Her work as a disease detective will involve analyzing data and investigating immunization safety issues. Hesse’s early interest in science and medicine prompted her participation in Frontier Middle School’s Science Olympiad team, where she placed in the national competition. She credits her biology and chemistry teachers at Moses Lake High School for nurturing her interest in science.
• Audrey Pennington
  Santa Rosa native joins CDC’s prestigious ‘disease detectives’
  September 1, 2017
  Audrey Pennington attributes her career path to great teachers, who fostered her affinity for math and science through AP-level course work at Santa Rosa High in Santa Rosa, CA. Today and for the next two years, she gets to fulfill her dream of being a disease detective for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In her undergraduate studies, Pennington embraced public health as a way to improve health at a population level, which also inspired her MPH and Ph.D. in epidemiology from Emory University.
• David Jackson
  Mountain Brook native enters elite CDC training program
  August 26, 2017
  During his time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the West African nation of Ivory Coast, David Jackson witnessed pressing health needs, and lead him to pursue medical school in Alabama. A native of Mountain Brook, AL, Jackson had dreamed of being a doctor since his days at Mountain Brook High School. Today, he is one of the newest disease detectives at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) helping to improve safety in workplaces with a focus on chemical and biological exposures. Prior to his work at CDC, Jackson joined the U.S. Public Health Service and worked as a physician in Navajo Reservation in northeast Arizona.
• Aimee Summers
  Portland grad playing a critical role in fighting Ebola in West Africa
  May 19, 2017
  From Ukraine to Kenya to Senegal, Aimee Summers, an EIS officer at CDC, has been deployed all over the world to respond to outbreaks and health threats. During the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, she led CDC’s on-site Dead Body Management in Liberia. Summers views these experiences as rewarding opportunities, stemming back to her studies and influencers at Portland High School (Class of 2000).
• Jessica Healy
  How a Redlands native is helping Puerto Rico with Zika virus outbreak
  May 5, 2017
  The work of a Redlands native can now be used by health officials in Puerto Rico to help families impacted by the Zika virus. Jessica Healy, an Epidemic Intelligence Officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented her research last week to colleagues during the 66th annual EIS Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Healy spent a month in Puerto Rico investigating the number of people infected with the mosquito-borne virus that has spread across Caribbean countries as well as South and Central Americas.
• Victoria Hall
  Newtown native discovers flaw in opioid-death count
  April 28, 2017
  New research suggests that some opioid deaths involving infectious disease may be missed by state surveillance, leading to an underestimate of the burden nationwide opioid epidemic that, according to the most recent statistics, already claims about 90 lives per day. Victoria Hall, a Newtown native and CDC epidemic intelligence service officer, discussed the findings at the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 66th annual Epidemic Intelligence Service conference in Atlanta.

2016

• Emily Pieracci
  Former Richland woman makes difference through CDC
  October 2, 2016
  Emily Pieracci has turned her childhood love of animals and science and into an extraordinary career, one that’s sent her around the world and made an unquestionable difference. Building on her years of education and experience, Emily became a CDC disease detective in 2014, providing aid in CDC’s emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Emily recently accepted a veterinary epidemiologist position at CDC. Her work includes training and education, from helping communities develop surveillance systems to recognize potential infection in people and animals, to teaching veterinarians to better identify and deal with rabid dogs.
• Mary-Margaret Fill
  Alumni Spotlight – Disease Detective-School of Medicine Graduate Investigates, Addresses Outbreaks for CDC[PDF – 44 pages]
  REACH Mercer University Health Sciences Center, Volume 3
  Spring 2016
  In Mary-Margaret Fill’s role as a CDC disease detective, she works with the Tennessee Department of Health and local partners to identify and address communicable and environmental diseases threats within the community. Dr. Fill was drawn to the EIS program as a means to expand her sphere of influence beyond her clinical practice to make a greater impact. She realizes that working at the state level puts her in a position to impact a broader population through policy and programmatic interventions, work closely with local partners and stay abreast of what happens in the community.
• Paige Armstrong
  Investigating the ‘what’ and ‘where’ of disease outbreaks- The Redding Pilot
  June 20, 2016
  Redding-native Dr. Paige Armstrong never expected to become an expert in the field of fungal diseases, but lately, she’s been focusing on exactly that.
• Sara Oliver
  Disease Detective: Alumna Sara Oliver joins CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service
  June 17, 2016
  Sara E. Oliver, M.D., MSPH, has always had an interest in public health. After a medical mission trip to South America following her first year of medical school, Oliver realized she was more intrigued by the population-level health care challenges she encountered.
• Lauri Hicks
  CDC’S Lauri Hicks ’95 Tackles the Dangers Imposed by the Misuse of Antibiotics
  January 21, 2016
  Seven decades ago, antibiotics arrived on the market as a life-saving remedy to common infectious diseases. Due to overuse or improper use, however, antibiotics are losing their effectiveness against new bacteria strains.
• Matthew Ritchey
  The ABCS of heart health
  January 21, 2016
  Matthew Ritchey takes a big-picture view of our hearts. A senior epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ritchey conducts research related to national cardiovascular health projects such as the Million Hearts initiative.

2015

• Emily Ussery
  Beaumont native sees end of Ebola in Sierra Leone
  December 30, 2015
  Emily Ussery watched as weary faces broke into smiles for the first time in months when Sierra Leone was declared Ebola free the past November. The 34-year-old Beaumont native volunteered through a program with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to travel to the West African country in October to ensure the outbreak was coming to an end.
• Dana Olzenak
  A Drexel Dragon Turned Disease Detective
  December 8, 2015
  How do you combine backgrounds in physical therapy and epidemiology to find a career that allows you to call upon both skill sets? Dana Olzenak ’06, an alumna of Drexel’s Post Professional DPT, carved a path that does just that – and on the front lines of public health, no less.
• Katharine Benedict
  Kathy Benedict: Disease Detective
  December 1, 2015
  For many Americans, 2014’s Ebola epidemic in West Africa began and ended with the four imported cases reported in the United States. For the people of Sierra Leone and neighboring countries, it’s an ongoing health crisis—a crisis that Kathy Benedict (Ph.D. ’11, D.V.M. ’13) and her fellow Epidemic Intelligence Service officers were charged with combating for six weeks earlier this year.
• Anita and Kanta Sircar
  Sisters fight diseases around the world
  Palos Verdes Peninsula News
  November 10, 2015
  Anita Sircar has looked up to her older sister, Kanta, her entire life. Whatever Kanta did, Anita wanted to do, such as volunteering at food banks and charity drives together during high school.
• Julie Self – NCEZID/DFWED
  Macon native ready for focus as CDC ‘disease detective’
  Macon Telegraph
  Monday September 8, 2015
  A zest for childhood mystery novels and a penchant for problem solving has thrust Julie Castles Self to a global front. From pecking away at the keyboard well after midnight as a teen growing up in Macon, she is now focused on finding ways to fight back pandemics and pathogens that threaten us all.
• Kate Russell – NCIRD
  Atlanta bound as a CDC detective
  Scarborough Leader
  Friday, August 21, 2015
  Kate Russell, a 2002 graduate of Scarborough High School, will always consider Scarborough home, but for the next two years she will be living in Atlanta working as a Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Mark Laughlin
  West Shore Sun
  August 20, 2015
  Westlake native is CDC disease detective: Westlake native Mark Laughlin is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2015 class of Epidemic Intelligence Service officers.
• Lillianne Lewis – NCEH
  People in the news: Lillianne Lewis
  The True Citizen
  August 19, 2015
  Dr. Lillianne Lewis is now part of the Centers for Disease Control’s 2015 class of Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers.
• Saleena Subaiya
  Subaiya Joins ‘Disease Detectives’ Force
  The Roslyn News
  August 19, 2015
  Roslyn resident Saleena Subaiya is not just another physician. Subaiya is on the front lines of public health, working across both the United States and at global destinations to keep the world’s peoples safe from a variety of health threats, including outbreak investigations for emerging disease threats, global health, chronic disease and injury prevention.
• Lawrence Purpura
  The Almanac
  August 17,2015
  Also known as CDC’s “disease detectives,” only about 60 EIS officers are selected each year from a highly competitive national candidate pool of medical doctors, veterinarians and PhD recipients. EIS officers work across the United States and around the globe to keep Americans safe from a variety of health threats. All of the EIS officers in the 2014 class were involved in the Ebola response.
• Alaine Knipes – DGHP
  Shutesbury native joins elite Centers for Disease Control team
  Amherst Bulletin
  Sunday, August 16, 2015
  During her education in Shutesbury and Amherst schools and eventually at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Alaine Knipes learned that she loved French and biology. Now, she uses her skills in both fields as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer — an elite group known as “disease detectives” — for the federal Centers for Disease Control.
• Shannon Novosad – NCEZID/DHQP
  Opelika native begins fellowship as CDC officer
  Opelika-Auburn News
  Friday, August 15, 2015
  Serving others has long been a priority for Shannon Novosad. The Opelika native said she realized her passion for people and love for science at an early age, and by high school, the young scholar had developed an interest in studying medicine.  Little did the Opelika High marching band fanatic know she’d eventually obtain a biology degree from Tulane University and then graduate medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before starting a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control.
• Jason Lake – NCEZID / DHQP
  Gainesville man sleuths for sickness at CDC
  Gainesville Times
  Friday, August 14, 2015
  A Gainesville native has joined an elite fellowship program of “disease detectives” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Selected each year from a highly competitive pool of hundreds of medical doctors, veterinarians and PhD recipients, Epidemic Intelligence Service officers work across the country and around the world to keep Americans safe from a variety of health threats.
• Joel Massey – CSELS (State DOH)
  North Mesquite grad becomes CDC ‘detective’
  Mesquite Times
  Thursday, August 13, 2015
  When an epidemic strikes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is usually called into action to assess the situation, determine the best solution and how to prevent it from spreading or reoccurring. One of those on the front lines is 1997 North Mesquite High School grad Dr. Joel Massey.
• Malini DeSilva
  Former Topekan working as ‘disease detective’
  The Topeka Capital-Journal
  May 16, 2015
  Topeka native Malini DeSilva has traveled around the United States — and the world — as a disease detective. DeSilva, 34, works as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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