The African and African American Studies Program in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences presents its Annual Fall Lecture Series, focused on topics related to pandemics, medicine and the Black community, with two events on Thursday, Nov. 4.

This year's events will take place virtually on Zoom with a lunchtime colloquium from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and a keynote lecture from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

During the lunchtime colloquium, distinguished panelists will discuss "Pandemics, Medicine, and the Black Community" as it relates to their individual research and practice. This event will feature talks by local neurologist Steve-Felix Belinga, Tameka Bailey of the Department of Biological Sciences and Brittany Hearne of the Department of Sociology and Criminology. Moderator Trish Starks of the Department of History will also provide commentary on race, medicine and pandemics.

The Nov. 4 evening event's keynote lecturer is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientist Dr. Ernest Yufenyuy, who will be speaking about "Containing Contagions: The Overlapping Pandemics of HIV, COVID-19, and the Global Black Community."

Yufenyuy has over 15 years of experience in infectious diseases and more than six years of international experience in public health policy formulation and implementation with a focus on global HIV and other infectious diseases. He has collaborated widely with experienced and world-renowned public health institutions globally. 

"Given the effects of COVID-19 on Black communities and Dr. Yufenyuy's expertise in virology, his visit is invaluable to both the campus and the local community," said Caree A. Banton, director of the African and African American Studies Program. "His training is especially relevant to many parts of the university ecosystem that focus on issues surrounding disease, medicine, public health and global wellness."

Yufenyuy's research interests include all aspects of HIV prevalence and incidence including detection, characterization, serotyping, HIV surveys and development of new and novel detection methods to help advance the field. He is also responsible for providing laboratory and public health policy advice in the planning, direction and coordination in the diagnosis of HIV and detection of recent infection to support the President's Emergency Plan on AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) mission.

Both events are free, and registration is open to the public. Attendees may visit https://bit.ly/aastlunchlecture to register for the lunchtime colloquium and https://bit.ly/aastkeynote to register for the keynote lecture.