The Center for Infectious Diseases and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases co-sponsor a weekly conference series featuring distinguished clinicians and scientists from UNC, local universities and other national and international institutions. The topics are varied and appeal to not only infectious disease specialists, but also professionals in epidemiology, public health, microbiology, biostatistics and other global health-related disciplines.

Dirk Dittmer, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the School of Medicine. The goal of Dr. Dittmer's research is to understand viral tumorigenesis; specifically, cancers that are caused by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8). In addition, the lab likes to hunt for new viruses and develop high throughput tools for viral diagnostics.