Christy Petersen

Bio

Dr. Christy Petersen is a veterinarian and scientist whose work focuses on the recognition and prevention of diseases spread between animals and people, including Lyme disease, leishmaniasis and since 2020, SARS coronavirus 2. Dr. Petersen was the US representative to the international veterinary group that provides recommendations regarding treatment and prevention of infection with the parasite, Leishmania infantum; Leishvet. Dr. Petersen’s collaborative group has worked in Brazil, India and Ethiopia via National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center and NIAID-funded projects focused on understanding how and why these diseases spread between animals and to people, One Health. This work has been predominantly evaluating dogs for their role in these infectious diseases, but has spanned work from domestic ruminants (goats, cows and water buffalo) to rodents. Dr. Petersen’s published and patented work demonstrates the ability to target animals for immunologic and parasitologic control of chronic infections to promote disease elimination. For this work, Dr. Petersen was named a fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2020 and a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2022. As director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Dr. Petersen coordinates One Health activities focused on understanding, detecting and preventing emerging zoonotic disease globally. Dr. Petersen is the Edwin Green Professor of Public Health at University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology. She teaches coursework related to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases within all creatures including people.