Brian R. Shmaefsky is a professor of environmental sciences at Kingwood College near Houston, Texas. He did his undergraduate studies in biology at Brooklyn College in New York and completed master’s and doctoral studies at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His research emphasis is in environmental physiology. Aside from his research publications, Dr. Shmaefsky has writhen several of the Deadly Diseases and Epidemics books. Plus, he has many publications on science education, some appearing in American Biology Teacher and the Journal of College Science Teaching. He regularly consults on environmental science and microbiology textbook projects. Dr. Shmaefsky actively serves on local and international environmental awareness, environmental justice, and natural resource policy committees.
Tara C. Smith obtained her B.S. in Biology from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where she carried out research on the molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes. In 2002, she earned her Ph.D. at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio, under the tutelage of Dr. Michael Boyle and Dr. Darren Sledjeski. Her doctoral studies focused on group A streptococci, specifically virulence factor regulation in response to biological selection pressures. She has published articles in scientific journals as a result of this research. Currently, Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Iowa, and Deputy Director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. Her research centers on zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted between humans and animals), including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus suis. She resides in Iowa with her two children.
Foreword by David Heymann, World Health Organization