Collen Jonsson, Beaman Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, will present “Making Sense of Virus Evolution—The Unsolved Puzzle of Deadly Hantaviruses” at this week’s Science Forum, to be held at noon Friday, April 28.
Jonsson’s talk will be held in Thompson-Boling Arena Café, Rooms C-D. The 40-minute presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer discussion.
The Science Forum is free and open to the public. Attendees may bring their own lunch or purchase lunch at the café.
As the weather is getting warmer and people turn to outdoor activities such as camping and hiking, they need to beware of a rare but deadly virus that is spread through mouse droppings and kills up to 40 percent of people who become infected. The severe respiratory illness is known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
Jonsson will discuss the hantavirus and the mystery that comes with the virus. She will also define the genetic determinants and mechanisms that facilitate the spread of hantavirus within its rodent reservoir in nature.
The Science Forum began in 1933 and is sponsored by UT’s Quest research magazine. The forum was designed to provide the public, students, and other researchers a chance to learn about scientific research void of jargon.