Dr. Paul Carson, professor of practice in the NDSU Department of Public Health, is scheduled to give the 61st Faculty Lecture Tuesday, April 19, at 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union Anishinaabe Theater and through Zoom. A reception in the Memorial Union Gallery is set to follow the lecture.
Carson’s talk, “Two Years on a Pandemic Frontline: Lessons Learned and Reflections for the Academy,” will review how vaccines have been one of the greatest public health accomplishments of the last century, and how those accomplishments are threatened by health misinformation and a rising tide of vaccine hesitancy.
He will explore the historical and psychological roots of vaccine hesitancy, and how the NDSU Center for Immunization Research and Education have worked to address these problems. He also will reflect on lessons learned in public health from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how some of they may have broader applicability to the university community.
“Dr. Carson exudes excellence in teaching, research and service related to his expertise in prevention and management of infectious diseases. His role in building the curriculum for this topic area within the Master of Public Health program has been influential in its ongoing success. His most recent research and service has been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic where he has been called upon to advise the university, the North Dakota University System and the state of North Dakota on all pandemic-related items,” said Department of Public Health colleagues Lauren Dybsand, Kylie Hall, Pamela Jo Johnson and Stefanie Meyer, who nominated him for the honor.
Carson is a physician specializing in the fields of internal medicine and infectious diseases. He teaches in the graduate program on the management of infectious diseases. In 2020, he received the NDSU College of Health Professions Mary J. Berg Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2015, he founded the NDSU Center for Immunization Research and Education which has received more than $8 million in funding to address barriers to vaccination and means of increasing vaccine acceptance and uptake.
During the pandemic, he has been a regular consultant to the North Dakota Department of Health, and served on Gov. Doug Burgum’s task force to address the pandemic response in North Dakota.
Prior to coming to NDSU in 2013, he worked at Sanford Health as a clinician caring for patients with infectious diseases. In addition, he held at various times the roles of chair of the Department of Infectious Diseases, director of clinical research, associate director for the internal medicine residency training program and chief quality officer. He also is a professor in the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
“Dr. Carson has sustained professional excellence in teaching from his days with medical students to presently working with public health students, in scholarly achievement as demonstrated by his numerous publications and successful research and in service as evidenced by his vast reach and scope of service to his profession across local, regional, and national platforms,” his nominators said.
Cheryl Wachenheim, professor of agribusiness and applied economics, also was nominated for this honor. Her nominator was William Nganje, chair of agribusiness and applied economics. As a finalist, she will receive an honorarium and be recognized at the Faculty Lecture.
“Their nomination speaks to their commitment to NDSU and the recognition of their record by their colleagues and students,” Canan Bilen-Green, vice provost for faculty and equity, said about Carson and Wachenheim.
The Faculty Lectureship, one of the oldest and most prestigious of the university’s awards, recognizes sustained professional excellence in teaching, scholarly achievement and service among NDSU faculty.
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