Professor
School of Veterinary Medicine, Graduate School | Department of Pathobiological Sciences
Hometown: Wauwatosa, WI
Thomas Friedrich grew up in Wauwatosa, WI idolizing Robin Yount and Carl Sagan. He always wanted to be a scientist of some kind, but he focused on physics before becoming interested in infectious diseases while reading Laurie Garrett’s The Coming Plague in college. Dr. Friedrich is now a professor of virology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches students about global health, HIV/AIDS, and emerging infectious diseases. In his research, Dr. Friedrich works with teams of scientists to understand how viruses like influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and Zika jump species to spread and cause disease in humans.
Talks:
Beyond the headlines: A scientist's view of bird flu
I will summarize what we currently know about bird flu viruses circulating in dairy cattle and explain how virus jump species, and how scientists assess whether viruses pose a pandemic risk.