2. Elisabeth Root (Dept. of Geography)

Before this presentation, I had never heard of or thought about the combination of the fields of medicine/health and geology. They originally seemed liked two completely separate fields, but the further through the presentation that she got, the more and more it made sense and I wondered why I hadn’t considered this before. It also makes you wonder what other disciplines could be combined to generate better outcomes for both fields. With most scientific fields, experiments are run in extremely controlled environments, but as shown in vaccine trials, that is not the case. There are uncountable variables that the scientists cannot control, but with the research that Dr. Root presented, trials can become a little more scientific as some variables are now under control. I am curious if this practice will be widely used in vaccine trials in the future or if there are other medicinal trials where this could be made applicable. Overall a very thought provoking presentation.

This lecture was very interesting to me as I plan to go into medicine in my future career and I have never taken the time to look into the history of vaccinations or how big of a role geography can play into the spreading of bacteria and viruses. I have heard of John Snow before and his break through in discovering the cause and transmission of cholera. But I found it interesting that just these details of his study are focused on while some of the best parts of his study that have changed the entire process of data collection and scientific experiments. His work among other well known scientists have contributed to the development of Germ Theory which during their time was a very radical idea. The most interesting aspect of both John Snows study and the studies that Dr. Root has contributed in was the personal survey aspect of data collection which I found to be different than what the typical idea of scientific data collection is where everything is numbers and statistics not really focusing on all these personal details. Learning about vaccine efficacy was something that I think is super applicable especially because right now vaccines are such a hot topic so it was super informative to learn about the process of testing vaccinations and looking at them from a biosocial point of view to fully digest how vaccines are contributing to so many health changes around us.

Dr. Root’s presentation on John Snow and Health Geography was really intriguing. I admit, when I thought about geography before this presentation, all that came to mind was studying rocks, land formations, etc. However, Dr. Root’s presentation has completely challenged the way I view geography. She showed me that understanding the cause and origin of a disease requires the incorporation of people from many different professions–as well as thinking outside the box–in order to truly understand how to eradicate the disease and  finding vaccines for it. I also liked how Dr. Root provided the class with what truly goes into making a vaccine, and how vaccine efficacy is determined. In addition, I found her discussion on John Snow and Henry Whitehead particularly interesting when talking about how he refuted the many opposing scientists’ questions regarding his water pump hypothesis. This showed me that in order to find something new and ground-breaking, you have to think outside the box in a non-conventional sense (while also providing concrete evidence to both support your claim and refute any criticism). This also reminded me of when Dr. Root explained that the reason why her research found that the only house showing signs of the West Nile Virus was actually due to that house not having air conditioning. It really went to show that simple, yet scientifically out of the box, observations and questions can sometimes result in explaining the origin of a disease.

Overall I think this was a really nice presentation because it informed me on how people study diseases and vaccines. I learned about Vaccine Efficacy which is calculated at different scales like worldwide and local. I also learned how Vaccine Efficacy is calculated and how different cultures have different outlooks on diseases. I also liked seeing different maps of how many people took the vaccine and didn’t get sick compared to people who did get sick. I really think it was nice to talk about the environment as well because that plays a huge role in disease as well.

I was intrigued when Dr. Root said John Snow was the father of modern epidemiology and was one of the first health geographers because I did not know that and I was not really sure what a health geographer was before. I was unaware that maps were hand-drawn and drawn onto a computer screen sensor before twenty years ago. I liked discussing the “one health” concept because I personally like animal inclusion in topics since I am on a pre-vet track. Also, the concept is brilliant because it brings attention to the fact that most epidemics are spread by animal carriers. Knowing how an animal is transmitted with a disease can diminish the population affected. The fact that everyone thought Cholera was spread by miasma while John Snow recorded an analysis of the water systems’ correlation with people affected was very revolutionary. He was able to think outside of the box and save a lot of people. Although medicine is highly advanced today in comparison, I believe we would not have some of the techniques we have today without his influences.

In the lecture given by Elisabeth Root, I learned more about the father of geology and epidemiology, John Snow. Additionally, I learned more about how the development of this field helped the study of how diseases spread. The work of John Snow allowed the spread of cholera to be mapped. This eventually led to the development of Germ theory which has become the cornerstone of medicine today.

Dr. John Snow is the father modern epidemiology and geography of health. During an outbreak of Cholera, Dr. Snow wanted to understand why and how it was spreading.  The speaker talked about the book “The Ghost Map” and how it’s a retelling story on Dr. Snow and his research.

In London, there was a deadly outbreak of Cholera in 1854. People thought that it was caught by the air. Dr. Snow believed that it was spared by microorganisms in water, which we know is true today. People disagreed with Snow because they couldn’t understand that they couldn’t see the germs. The speaker was sure to mention that Dr. Snow wasn’t the one who came up with the Germ theory but helped start it. Snow is known for surveying neighborhoods and tied each point of the map to water wells and deaths caused by Cholera. For example, a workhouse, which had a private well, only had five deaths; Snow said that their water was clean since they didn’t share the well.

I really enjoined when Root talked about breakthroughs in medicine and how culture is in medicine. She also mentioned her work on vaccines.  Root also talked about Landscape genetics and how it brought medicine and geography together. One of her studies dealt with RSV-B over the course 5 years. What she found out is that the outbreak of RSV was caused by people living in the city and once they moved into the rural areas. The RSV would alter itself to be able to survive the rural area, allowing to survive in urban and rural areas; It showed that genes can evolve to survive.

The future of medical Geography has a bright future, thanks to Dr. Snow.

This talk was interesting because it reminded me of how so many things have changed culturally in not that long of a time period. The change from written maps to GPS systems that we have today is phenomenal. The way that vaccines were given 100 years ago is also so unsanitary are gross compared to today. It was also crazy to think about how long of a process it is to make a vaccine. Learning that geographers do more than just study maps was mind opening as well. I did not realize that people like Elisabeth helped study the history of disease and vaccine in order to create more efficient methods to control disease today.

I found the subject matter of this presentation to be fascinating, particularly due to my interest in public health, epidemiology, and vaccination.  It is truly intriguing how influential geographical factors and socioeconomic status are on health and disease transmission.  As someone who will be attending medical school this upcoming fall, the implications of John Snow’s work with cholera drastically impacted what became the profession that I will be entering.

In addition to the significance of the impacts of global health, once again, the context of events proves critical.  What John Snow accomplished in the 1850s is highly impressive.  As someone who has the world at my fingertips with modern technology, the progression of science and technology can be abstract, but neat to learn about.  Germ Theory did not exist before John Snow’s time, so the fact that he was able to come to the conclusions that he did can be hard to grasp for me.  I liked that Dr. Root stated that the work he completed at the time was “rocket science then.”  I find it fascinating that he even researched the social factors that were additionally impacting the cholera outbreak, such as sanitation habits and water sources.

One of my favorite components of Dr. Root’s presentation was her commentary that what makes John Snow’s accomplishments so impressive was that Snow and his colleagues were open to and accepting of new scientific ideas.  This is essential in scientific innovation, even in modern topics, such as genomic medicine.  In order to be the best scientist and the best life learner in general, we need to be accepting of change and new ideology.  Overall, I truly enjoyed this lecture, especially the discussion of vaccines and the impacts of geography and social networks.  In 2019, vaccines are a hot topic, due to the unexpected movement of anti-vaccine supporters.  I struggle with comprehending the justifications for rejecting vaccination.  However, that’s a whole other topic.  But, furthermore, learning about landscape genetics was new and exciting to me in its implications.  In order to be an effective medical provider in the future, I need to comprehend the roles population and landscape pressures play on evolutionary processes in public health.  Our health is determined by biological, social, geographical, cultural, and more factors.  This lecture was a perfect example of the necessity of looking at the whole picture.

Coming into this presentation, I didn’t really have a great idea of who John Snow was or what he did. Coming out of the presentation, I have a great baseline of his work and how he contributed to society, so I would say that this was a great presentation in that way. When it comes to all of the other information presented, regarding various research methods and how modern geography contributes to the study of vaccines, I had a great time learning about them and they were very thoroughly presented. My favorite part of the entire presentation was learning about the idea of “herd immunity” and how it impacts current research so much. Overall, I thought Dr. Root did an amazing job conveying her work and information, and she was able to make it interesting the entire time.