Tara C. Smith obtained her B.S. in Biology from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where she carried out research on the molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes. In 2002, she earned her Ph.D. at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio, under the tutelage of Dr. Michael Boyle and Dr. Darren Sledjeski. Her doctoral studies focused on group A streptococci, specifically virulence factor regulation in response to biological selection pressures. She has published articles in scientific journals as a result of this research. Currently, Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Iowa, and Deputy Director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. Her research centers on zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted between humans and animals), including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus suis. She resides in Iowa with her two children.
Patrick Guilfoile earned his Ph.D. in bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He subsequently did postdoctoral research at that institution, as well as at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following over 20 years as a faculty member and administrator at Bemidji State University, he served as Provost and then Interim Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. His most recent research focused on the molecular genetics of ticks and other parasites. He has authored or coauthored more than 20 papers in scientific and biology education journals. He has also written several other books in the Deadly Diseases and Epidemics series, along with a molecular biology laboratory manual, and a book on controlling ticks that transmit Lyme disease.
Foreword by David Heymann, World Health Organization