Valley fever is a respiratory disease endemic to most of the American Southwest, including California’s Central Valley, where infection rates are 90 times higher than in the northern part of the state. People who work with or around soil in agriculture, construction, landscaping, and even solar farms are particularly at risk. Valley fever is estimated to kill about 200 people per year, though the true number is probably higher. For the last five years, I’ve done research on Valley fever as part of a multidisciplinary lab at the University of California, Merced. This experience has convinced me that for my work at the bench to pay the greatest dividends for society, my future must also include working in direct conversation with community members, clinicians, industry, and policymakers.Read More