WFU/Peru: International Field Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine (Summer)

The International Field Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine Program offers undergraduate an immersive experience in global health, infectious disease research, infectious disease ecology, and public health practice in Peru. Students will complete three days of intensive pre-field training over Zoom to bring everyone up to speed on tropical medicine, epidemiology, and before traveling on to Peru for field work. Our field work will take place in Lima and Tumbes, Peru and potentially Iquitos, Peru.

Students will learn directly from Peruvian partners (including Peruvian public health and CDC officials) and U.S. faculty with medical students and trainees serving as teaching assistants. One of the most exciting aspects of the program is its “Hot Zone”-style experience, where students step into the role of field epidemiologists investigating real-world infectious disease outbreaks. Rather than learning solely in a classroom, participants conduct household health surveys, collect mosquitoes and other disease vectors, practice small-mammal trapping, and analyze specimens in the laboratory. Students follow the entire process from field collection to organism identification, gaining firsthand insight into how outbreaks are detected, investigated, and controlled. This immersive approach brings concepts from epidemiology, global health, and infectious disease ecology to life while emphasizing safe, supervised, and responsible field practice.

The program integrates infectious disease ecology, diagnostics, outbreak response, travel medicine, geospatial analysis, and Peruvian history, healthcare, and culture. A highlight for many students was following the full public health process, from collecting samples in the field to identifying organisms in the laboratory. The program provides a unique opportunity to develop scientific, clinical, and cross-cultural skills in an international setting while learning about the intersection between medicine and biology.

Lima, Peru. The largest and capital city of Peru, home to over 10 million people. We will be staying in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood next to the Pacific coast. While in Lima, we will have the opportunity for some tourism (i.e., various Markets, the catacombs, pre-Incan ruins), will shadow medical rounds at the world famous Alexander von Humboldt Institute of Tropical Medicine, and receive instruction on laboratory and epidemiology practices at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia campuses. We will then continue to Tumbes, Peru, located on the Northern coast of Peru. Here we will be based in the UPCH Center for Global Health which will serve as our home base while we visit clinics, public health facilities, conduct field work, and conduct household surveys. TBD a visit to Iquitos, Peru, located in the Amazon and is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road.

Course: BIO301 (3hr) / BIO302 (4hrs with Lab)
Pre-Reqs: Bio 150

The International Field Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine course offers students an immersive, hands-on introduction to global health and infectious disease investigation in Peru. After three days of intensive pre-field training, students travel to Lima and Tumbes, where they learn directly from faculty, residents, fellows, and Peruvian experts.

This real-world “Hot Zone” experience takes students beyond the classroom and into the field. Participants conduct household health surveys, collect and identify mosquitoes that can carry disease, practice small-mammal trapping techniques, work in parasitology laboratories, and take part in outbreak-response simulations. Students follow the complete investigative process, from collecting samples in the field to identifying organisms in the laboratory and presenting their findings.

The curriculum integrates epidemiology, infectious disease ecology, diagnostics, vector-borne disease, travel medicine, geospatial analysis, and outbreak response with an exploration of Peruvian history, healthcare, and culture. Through close mentorship and hands-on learning, students gain practical skills, cross-cultural experience, and a deeper understanding of how public health professionals identify, track, and respond to emerging health threats around the world.

John Sanders
Chief of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Medicine
Email:

Michael DeWitt
Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Applied Statistics (IDEAS) Lead, Wake Forest University School of Medicine 
Email:  or

John W. Sanders, MD, MPH&TM is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Section on Infectious Diseases at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is an internationally recognized physician-scientist with more than 30 years of experience in infectious diseases, tropical medicine, vaccine research, and global health. Before joining Wake Forest, Dr. Sanders served in leadership roles with the U.S. Navy’s medical research programs, including as Commanding Officer of Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6 in Lima, Peru, where he led infectious disease research throughout Latin America. His work has focused on outbreak investigation, emerging infectious diseases, vaccine development, and improving health in communities around the world. He is passionate about mentoring future physicians and scientists and helping students understand how public health, clinical medicine, and research work together to address real-world infectious disease challenges.

Michael DeWitt is a Research Data Scientist and Research Manager in the Section on Infectious Diseases at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where he leads teams focused on biostatistics, epidemiology, and clinical research. With training in engineering, statistics, and infectious disease epidemiology, Michael’s research spans emerging infectious diseases, outbreak detection, vaccine effectiveness, global health, and mathematical modeling of disease transmission. Michael has contributed to nationally recognized public health initiatives, including the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership, antimicrobial resistance surveillance programs, and global health collaborations in Peru, Ghana, and beyond.

Hotels in Lima and Tumbes. Accommodations will be shared rooms.

Provisional list of excursions:

• May 30: City walk, market visits, lunch at pre-Incan ruins (Lima)
• June 6: Beach day (Tumbes)
• June 8: Free time in Lima.
• Other miscellaneous excursions will occur based on student interest.

The total cost of summer study abroad can be broken down into four categories:

• Program Fee – Usually covers room, in-country travel, excursions, some group meals and other costs associated with the program.
• Tuition – Students on WFU summer programs pay WFU summer school tuition per credit hour. The current rate is $950/per credit hour. 
• Airfare (estimated) – Varies per location. Students are responsible for their own airfare unless otherwise noted.
• Personal Expenses (estimated) – These will vary depending on the students’ spending habits, cost of living in the destination country, and the number of meals included in the program fee. This may also include visa fees, vaccinations, academic supplies/books and other miscellaneous daily expenses.

Billed by Wake Forest:
Program Fee – $4,760 (estimated)
Tuition (3hrs) – $2,850 (3 credit hours) OR $3,800 (4 credit hours)
                      +
Personal costs (will fluctuate per student):
Airfare (estimated) – $1,000
Personal Expenses (estimated) – $780

Estimated Total Cost: $9,390 (3 credit hours) or $10,340 (4 credit hours)

*Final program fee is dependent on number of students enrolled in the program

Scholarships are available through the Center for Global Programs and Studies

Scholarship deadline to apply through the Center for Global Programs and Studies is February 1st. 

Passport Information
Students need to check their passport’s expiration date and ensure that it will be valid for at least 6 months after the program’s end date.

Students going on a summer program need to make sure their passport is valid through at least mid-February of the following year.

US passport holders who need to renew their passport should visit the U.S. Department of State’s passport website for information on this process.

Non-US passport holders who need to renew their passport should refer to their home country’s passport office.

Visa Information
If you are a US citizen, you most likely will not require a visa for your summer abroad program. If you do, details will be shared with you by GPS. Non-US passport holders should check with their host country’s embassy or consulate to find out if a visa is required for their program or not.

John Sanders
Chief of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Medicine
Email:

Michael DeWitt
Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Applied Statistics (IDEAS) Lead, Wake Forest University School of Medicine 
Email:  or

Amanda Batten
Study Abroad Advisor

336-758-3194