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Feb. 14: Carol Symes, associate professor and associate chair of history and director of graduate studies at Illinois, will discuss “Historical Perspectives of Pandemics.” Past and recent waves of disease have influenced the cultures of the world, from the Antonine plague that decimated the Roman army, through the bubonic plague that reshaped Europe and the world in the 14th century, to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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Feb. 21: Dr. Ali S. Khan, dean of the College of Public Health and professor of epidemiology at UNMC, will discuss “Threats to Global Health and the Role of the World Health Organization.” Current news coverage focuses on local and national issues, but pandemics affect the world. The WHO monitors and coordinates responses to disease outbreaks that threaten to become deadly pandemics.