Public Health Topics Bundle – Meghan May, Emil Lesho, Hannah Ruhlin

Meghan May, PhD Related seminars and products: 3

Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences (Microbiology and Infectious Disease)

University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dr. May was appointed in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of New England College of Medicine in 2013.  She was previously appointed in the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University from 2010-2013 (holding the Fisher Endowed Chair of Biological Sciences from 2012-2013) and was appointed as a postdoctoral fellow and then a research assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology at the University of Florida 's Emerging Pathogens Institute. Dr. May earned her B.S. degree in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Pathobiology and Bacteriology (respectively) from the University of Connecticut.  Her research focus is on the evolution of virulence, not only to determine how new diseases appear and where they come from but also how to predict what new disease might arise next – pathogen forecasting.  In order to explore this she studies bacteria (especially Mycoplasma), parasites (especially Filaria worms), and viruses (especially Zika).  She also studies infection-mediated pain, works up unusual clinical ID cases, and tries to invent novel diagnostic tests for antimicrobial resistance and Lyme disease.  In her copious spare time, she maintains a general public audience blog and contributes pieces to local and national print media on infectious disease.  Dr. May is a Co-Principal Investigator on a research grant from National Institutes of Health, the past chair of the American Society for Microbiology’s Division G, the chair of the International Research Programme in Comparative Mycoplasmology’s Molecular Genetics Team, and an elected member of the International Committee for the Systematics of Prokaryotes (Mollicutes Taxonomy Subcommittee). She also volunteers professional consultations in clinical microbiology and mycoplasmology for ASM’s international laboratory capacity (LabCAP) program and for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.  She is the author of 35 peer-reviewed publications and 10 invited book chapters, and has given several platform presentations at national and international meetings.  

Dr. May has no disclosures

Emil Lesho, DO Related seminars and products: 2

Rochester Regional Hospital

Bio: Emil P. Lesho, DO, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA is an Infectious Diseases physician and the Healthcare Epidemiologist for Rochester Regional Health, Rochester, NY. Previously, Dr. Lesho served for 26 years on active duty in the U.S. Army. Following his deployment to Iraq, he was the Cofounder and Director of the Multidrug-resistant Organism Repository and Surveillance Network and the Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring and Research Program (MRSN-ARMoR) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) flagship agency for conducting epidemiologic surveillance and applied research of multidrug-resistant organisms isolated from healthcare associated infections including war trauma.
Dr. Lesho graduated magna cum laude from DeSales University, Center Valley, PA with a degree in biology, and from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia PA with D.O. degree.  He trained in Internal Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA and in Infectious Diseases at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC.  Dr. Lesho has co-authored 140 papers in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. He holds the position of Professor of Medicine (inactive) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, and has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally on various internal medicine and infectious diseases topics, and most recently on the escalating crisis of antibiotic resistance.

Faculty Disclosure: Dr. Lesho has no financial interest, arrangement or affiliation that could be perceived as a real or apparent conflict of interest in the contact or subject of this presentation.

Hannah Ruhlin, BA Related seminars and products: 1

Community Organizer

Maine Health Equity

Bio: Hannah Ruhlin (they/them) is the LGBTQ+ Community Organizer with Health Equity Alliance. In this role, they offer HIV and Hepatitis C testing and counseling to marginalized communities, provide education and trainings on LGBTQ+ issues and related topics, support the organization of Bangor Pride, and more. Hannah earned their Bachelor’s degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Maine Orono in 2015. In their work, they particularly focus on deconstructing the gender binary and supporting individuals in the exploration of their gender and sexuality.

Faculty Disclosure: Ms. Ruhlin has no financial interest, arrangement or affiliation that could be perceived as a real or apparent conflict of interest in the contact or subject of this presentation.