Ebola expert to discuss breakout ‘from the hot zone’

Richard Preston, contributor to The New Yorker, author, and leading Ebola expert, will speak at Yale on Wednesday, Nov. 5 as a Poynter Fellow in Journalism. Preston will give a talk titled “Ebola Breakout from the Hot Zone” in an event co-sponsored by the Franke Program in Science and the Humanities. The event will take place at the Whitney Humanities Center auditorium on 53 Wall St. at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Richard Preston, contributor to The New Yorker, author, and leading Ebola expert, will speak at Yale on Wednesday, Nov. 5 as a Poynter Fellow in Journalism.

Richard Preston

Preston will give a talk titled “Ebola Breakout from the Hot Zone” in an event co-sponsored by the Franke Program in Science and the Humanities. The event will take place at the Whitney Humanities Center auditorium on 53 Wall St. at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

A graduate of Pomona College, Preston wrote a New Yorker article in 1992 titled “Crisis in the Hot Zone.” The piece was then expanded to become his bestseller “non-fiction thriller,” “The Hot Zone” (1994), which chronicles the origins and incidents involving various viral hemorrhagic fevers, notably Ebola.

He has written numerous other books on the topic of infections disease and bioterrorism, including “The Cobra Event” (1998) and “The Demon in the Freezer” (2002). His books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Preston’s work has garnered him numerous accolades. He is the recipient of the American Institute of Physics Award and the National Magazine Award. He is also the only non-medical doctor to ever receive the Center for Disease Control’s Champion of Prevention Award for public health. Additionally, there is an asteroid, “Preston,” named after him. 

The Poynter Fellowship in Journalism was established by Nelson Poynter, who received his master’s degree in 1927 from Yale. The fellowship brings to campus journalists from a wide variety of media outlets who have made significant contributions to their field. Among recent Poynter fellows are Natalie Jackson, Seymour Hersh, and Claudia La Rocco.

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