Tackling global infectious diseases, especially waterborne diseases such as cholera. Strategy: Taking a holistic approach, rather than just focusing on the pathogen and patient. Pandemics, for example, are affected by climate, adverse weather events, ocean circulation, etc. By examining such factors, researchers can begin to predict the disease. We know from satellite observations that when sea surface temperature increases in the Bay of Bengal, there is an increase in the number of cholera cases.

Long-Term Goal: To have an international center on infectious diseases, water, and health to include colleagues working in Sweden, Norway, Japan, India, and Bangladesh.

cholera, infectious disease, waterborne diseases

Former Director of the National Science Foundation

35 honorary degrees from institutions of higher education, including her Alma Mater, Purdue University. Dr. Colwell is an honorary member of the microbiological societies of the UK, France, Israel, Bangladesh, and the U.S. and has held several honorary professorships, including the University of Queensland, Australia. A geological site in Antarctica, Colwell Massif, has been named in recognition of her work in the polar regions.

Dr. Colwell has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology and also as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Microbiology, the Sigma Xi National Science Honorary Society, and the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Dr. Colwell is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the National Academy of Sciences.

Books

Agricultural biotechnology edited by Arie Altman ; international advisory editorial board, Rita R. Colwell et al. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1998.

S494.5.B563 A3715 1998eb (electronic book)

The door in the dream: conversations with eminent women in science by Elga Wasserman. Washington, D.C. : Joseph Henry Press, 2000.

Preface by Dr. Colwell.

QH26 .W375 2000 and QH26 .W375 1999eb (electronic book)

Effect of the ocean environment on microbial activities; proceedings, edited by R. R. Colwell and R. Y. Morita, Baltimore, University Park Press, 1974.

QR100.U54 1974

Periodicals

Colwell, RR. Crystal ball look to the future. Environmental Microbiology. 4 (1): 5-6, Jan 2002.

Full-text online available in Academic Search Premier database

Colwell, RR and Huq, A. Global microbial ecology: biogeography and diversity of Vibrios as a model. Journal of Applied Microbiology 85: 134S-137S Suppl. S 1999.

Full-text online available in Academic Search Premier database

Epstein, Paul R, Ford, Timothy E, Colwell, Rita R. Marine ecosystems.

The Lancet. London: 342(8881): 1216-19, Nov 13, 1993..

Full-text online available in Research Library database

Colwell, Rita R. et al. Reduction of cholera in Bangladeshi villages by simple filtration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100 (3): 1051-6, Feb 2003.

Full-text online available in EBSCOhost EJS database

Colwell, Rita. A rising tide. UNESCO Courier, 47 (6), p29-31, Jun94.

Full-text online available in Academic Search Premier database

Colwell, Rita. The Role and Scope for an Integrated Community of Biologists. Bioscience, 50 ( 3): 199-202, Mar2000.

Full-text online available in Academic Search Premier database

Colwell, Rita R.; Kelly, Eamon M. Science Learning, Science Opportunity. By: Science, 286 (5438): 237-9, Oct 1999.

Full-text online available in Academic Search Premier database

Colwell, Rita R. A voyage of discovery: cholera, climate and complexity. By: Environmental Microbiology, 4 (2): 67-69, Feb2002.

Full-text online available in Academic Search Premier database

Colwell, RR. "World enough, and time": A global investment for the environment. Bioscience, 51 (11): 908-914 Nov 2001.

Full-text online available in BioOne database.