With the hotter temperatures ending and cooler days arriving, those who live in the United States might be looking forward to a break from insects such as mosquitoes and bees. However, for some individuals, such as public health entomologist Dr. Steve Lindsay, keeping an eye on insects like mosquitoes is a year-round commitment. On Tuesday, October 1, the medical professional and fellow at Durham University in Durham, England, will speak to Skeptics students about malaria. 

“I look forward to speaking to the audience about malaria, one of humankind’s greatest killers, and the efforts made to control this disease in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Lindsay in a pre-event interview. “This represents one of the greatest public health achievements in a generation, but the hard won gains are under threat.”

With over 35 years of medical experience, Dr. Lindsay shares that although he has always been interested in zoology and the control of vector-borne diseases, his career path was largely shaped by “being in the right place at the right time.”

“My career did not follow some well-established master plan; rather, I got to where I am today through being in the right place at the right time, and with a lot of hard work.”

“It was in London, under the street, that I kept a colony of mosquitoes infected with worms. It was love at first bite! I recognized that understanding the behavior and ecology of the mosquito allowed one to understand how and when transmission of disease occurs. From then on, I was hooked.”

“Over the years, students have often asked me for career advice and the advice I give has always been the same. ‘What interests you? What sets you on fire? Whatever it is, do that.’ I have been lucky enough to have done that throughout my career.”

His passion has led him to numerous countries including Gambia, China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Laos, Pakistan, Tanzania, Thailand and Uganda. In the field, Dr. Lindsay was a part of a crucial task force that showed how insecticide-treated bed nets reduced mortality from malaria in children for the first time. 

Today, in addition to his fellowship at the university, he continues working on ways to improve and build environments that will better control vector-borne diseases. At Blair, he intends to speak about his passion while emphasizing the hard work that happens behind the scenes to keep communities safe.

“It is always a great privilege to have anyone listen to what one has to say,” he shared. He hopes the one message students take away from his event is that “they appreciate how many billions of people in the tropics and subtropics are currently exposed to potentially lethal diseases transmitted by different types of mosquito, and the urgent need to improve the health of the poorest of the poor and boost development.”

All are welcome to hear Dr. Lindsay speak in the forum of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

History of Skeptics
 
The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.