Coordinating Against Disease

I support Anh Loan Diep’s call in “Finding My Future Beyond the Bench” (Issues, Fall 2022) for greater communication between researchers and the public. Diep began their undergraduate research studies in my laboratory, which studies the interactions between the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and the human immune system. For their PhD research, Diep worked on a relatively understudied but increasingly recognized significant fungal infection that occurs in the southwestern United States: Valley fever.

Of all the major classes of infectious agents—viral, bacterial, parasitic, fungal—we know the least about how our immune system contends with and ultimately clears fungal pathogens. Certainly, there is great need for more research and public awareness regarding Valley fever. As Diep points out, the disease is underdiagnosed. In the clinic, it is also often mistaken for other respiratory diseases, delaying treatment and exacerbating symptoms for those with Valley fever. The need for collaboration among clinicians treating patients, scientists studying the molecular mechanisms of the disease, and policymakers could not be greater.

I second Diep’s suggestion that at leading scientific conferences in the field of Valley fever, devoting a section to fostering interactions among scientists, clinicians, and those in public health policy would have lasting impact on disease alleviation. As the author reasons, scientific conferences are something of a missed opportunity to build mutual trust between relevant stakeholders, and to build collaboration and momentum needed to tackle this insidious disease—a vision that many of us support.

Kirk D. C. Jensen