The University of Michigan School of Public Health will host the annual Thomas Francis Jr. Memorial Lecture on October 1, 2026, featuring Dr. Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, DSc (hon), FAAP, FASTMH, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Hotez will present the keynote, “Vaccines and Immunizations in a Time of Global Boiling, Megacities and Anti-science,” exploring the growing impact of climate change and urbanization on infectious diseases and the challenges facing global vaccine uptake. He will discuss vaccine development efforts targeting neglected and tropical diseases, including hookworm and COVID-19, as well as the rise and globalization of vaccine hesitancy and anti-science movements.
This annual lecture honors Thomas Francis Jr., a distinguished epidemiologist and former University of Michigan faculty member whose pioneering work in infectious disease research, chronic disease epidemiology, and the Tecumseh Study had a lasting impact on public health and epidemiology.
A reception will be held after the lecture from 2:30-3:30 PM in the 1680 SPH I (Paul B. Cornely Community Room).
Hosted by
Department of Epidemiology
Questions?
Mackenzie Velas, [email protected]