As a medic in Vietnam, Roger LeBrun was deeply affected, both by working with orphans who were suffering with infectious diseases and by contracting malaria twice himself.
So when he returned to the United States, he decided against going to medical school and instead studied vector-borne diseases at Cornell University. Since then, he has dedicated his life to researching and teaching others what can be done to eliminate these plagues.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
“Having malaria was the main focus for my going into vector-borne disease,” he said. “But those [orphans] are the main reason I have continued to do what I do. They kind of haunt me. Sometimes, you just get these emotional connections that are very powerful motivators.”
The work those orphans have inspired is substantial. LeBrun, who has taught entomology at the University of Rhode Island since 1977, holds three patents, has authored more than 50 scientific papers and has been awarded research grants totaling $1.5 million.
He also has been named a Fulbright senior specialist in global public health – and so, for the next five years, will serve as a resource to governments in need of expertise in his field.
But though LeBrun is best known to many in Rhode Island as a researcher – specializing in diseases transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes, including Lyme disease, West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis – it’s his teaching that earned him his most recent recognition.
For the last five years, LeBrun has taught a class called “The Global Challenge of Emerging Infectious Disease in Developing Nations,” in which students learn to focus not only on the diseases, but also on how they affect the lives and economic prospects of those who contract them.
Late last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded LeBrun its 2006 Northeast regional award for excellence in college teaching. He was chosen, LeBrun said, for the way he teaches that class.
“It was the active work that I’m doing, with the idea of using a student’s heritage to teach them about diseases,” he said. “If a student is from South Africa or if their family is from South Africa, I train them in malaria or HIV and multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Then I connect them with agencies directly involved in that.”
The students work in groups to develop an expertise in the issues affecting different parts of the world.
“I want them to be personally engaged in the fabric in that culture. To do that, you give them an imagination and make them an expert on the diseases in that country,” LeBrun said. “It is amazing how they truly become connected to the culture. They bring in newspapers and sometimes even converse in that culture’s language.”
The approach, LeBrun said, helps show students how poverty and social issues are linked directly to infectious diseases, and it sparks discussions about what can be done.
“It gets them thinking about practical solutions to infectious diseases and asking questions like, who’s going to pay for it? You can’t expect Cambodia, which is rock poor, to have quarantines,” he said.
“Then there are social issues, like with the bird flu and taking birds out of people’s homes; [in some areas] you can’t do that,” he continued. “It’s the social aspects, economic aspects and religious aspects” that need to be considered.
LeBrun’s goal isn’t just to teach his students, but to inspire them to take action.
“I’m filling a cup, but also lighting a fire,” he said. “I want these students to be so enthused that they can’t sit in a class anymore because they want to get on a plane and do something. That’s what a 20-year-old student should be doing. I’m trying to get these students engaged in what’s going on in the rest of the world.”
Some of LeBrun’s students have gone on to work with Doctors without Borders and similar organizations. But as proud as he is of his students’ desire and ability to make a difference, he said, he is still disappointed in the overall battle against infectious diseases and poverty.
“I am pessimistic about our response as a nation,” LeBrun said. “I don’t think we’re meeting our promises to the global fund. There’s a huge crisis of 20 million orphans in Africa due to HIV, and there’s lip service, but there’s no action.”
“Having grassroots people involved is wonderful, but we don’t have that global response,” he added. “It’s not just about money; it’s about getting the money to the right places – and if we don’t, the infectious diseases will come to us. There are only so many Gates, Clintons and Carters, so we need the G8 [nations] to really commit to what they’ve already committed to.”
