Field Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine
May 28th – June 11th, 2025

The course takes a hands-on approach to the study of  Infectious Disease Ecology, highlighting its connection to One Health principles and the responses of socioecological systems to global change. It does so by providing students with an engaged field epidemiology experience in a tropical setting using the scenario (simulated) of an outbreak of a newly emerged zoonotic infectious disease. Students are first-hand practitioners in the front-line of a “Hot Zone” and work shoulder-to-shoulder with public health practitioners and medical fellows (post-resident MD infectious disease specialists) and engage multiple local stakeholders. By the end of the course students will have a deep understanding of responding to an outbreak including comfort in setting up a field lab and performing a field investigation similar to those conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. This intensive summer course offers a thorough overview of epidemiological principles and practices as applied to public health field studies, combining lectures, case studies, and hands-on training in designing, conducting, and publishing epidemiological field investigations.

Lima and Tumbes, Peru

Course Code to Be Confirmed

The course takes a hands-on approach to the study of  Infectious Disease Ecology, highlighting its connection to One Health principles and the responses of socioecological systems to global change. It does so by providing students with an engaged field epidemiology experience in a tropical setting using the scenario (simulated) of an outbreak of a newly emerged zoonotic infectious disease. Students are first-hand practitioners in the front-line of a “Hot Zone” and work shoulder-to-shoulder with public health practitioners and medical fellows (post-resident MD infectious disease specialists) and engage multiple local stakeholders. By the end of the course students will have a deep understanding of responding to an outbreak including comfort in setting up a field lab and performing a field investigation similar to those conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. This intensive summer course offers a thorough overview of epidemiological principles and practices as applied to public health field studies, combining lectures, case studies, and hands-on training in designing, conducting, and publishing epidemiological field investigations.

Miles Silman
Professor of Biology 
silmanmr@wfu.edu
336-758-5596

Michael DeWitt
MS, PhD candidate (Biology)
Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Applied Statistics (IDEAS) Lead, Wake Forest University School of Medicine 
medewitt@wakehealth.edu

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

The fieldwork component covers skills such as shadowing household interviews with local public health officials, collecting biological specimens from animals, and collecting vectors including mosquitoes and larva. Additionally, students will be introduced to basic techniques in parasitology, bacteriology, and virology in BSL 2/3 laboratories. This includes working side-by-side with experts from UPCH and the Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies. All interactions with humans and animals will be approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and ACUC (Animal Care and Use Committee) prior to the start of the course. The course also includes participation in clinical case presentations and discussions at the Humboldt Tropical Medicine Institute, emphasizing the connection between fieldwork and hospital settings. Students will have the opportunity to shadow hospital rounds with infectious disease physicians from the Humboldt and see the diagnosis and treatment of tropical infections firsthand. Additionally, the unique location of this course will provide students with first-hand experience in the role of a changing climate and human development play on emerging infectious diseases.

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.

Estimated Program Fee – $4,240
Tuition (3hrs) – $3,800
Airfare (estimated) – $1,000
Personal Expenses (estimated) – $840
Estimated total cost – $9,880

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

Scholarships are available through the Center for Global Programs and Studies

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.

Miles Silman
Professor of Biology 
silmanmr@wfu.edu
336-758-5596

Michael DeWitt
MS, PhD candidate (Biology)
Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Applied Statistics (IDEAS) Lead, Wake Forest University School of Medicine 
medewitt@wakehealth.edu

Tyler Favale
Study Abroad Advisor 
favalet@wfu.edu
336-758-4072