Dr. Stephanie Langel Explains Coronaviruses During a Live Session

Last Thursday, we got the chance to sit down and chat with Dr. Stephanie Langel, a faculty member at Duke University with a PhD in Virology who is teaching and doing research. Specifically, she studies coronaviruses and how they impact animal health and human health.

Stephanie's Background

Stephanie's background sets her apart. Her focus on farming, livestock, and the veterinary aspect of coronaviruses gives her the ability to really connect with a farmer's perspective on health and viruses. She started as a 4Her, showing livestock and milking cows. Her passion for animal care continued into college where she applied to vet school, but when she didn't get in, she decided to shift gears and study viruses. Now, she's a professor at Duke University and runs a lab that focuses on coronaviruses!

Our Conversation

This Live Session was one of our most engaging yet — members seemed to move in and questions kept coming! With Stephanie here to answer our questions and give down-to-earth explanations, it was easy to get swept up in her interest and enthusiasm for virology. During the session, we explored a number of things in depth:

• Basics of viruses versus other health threats and why viruses are a big part of the health discussion for humans and animal
• What are coronaviruses, anyway, and how do they work?
• How coronaviruses impact animal health and farming
• Why US farming methods are uniquely suited to protecting our livestock and our people from these viruses
• How the coronavirus research community has changed over the last couple of years and what this means for animal and human health

Take a look at a few of the highlights in the video above. As always, the full recording of our sessions are posted within the members-only community and members are always invited to participate live. When you sign up for the annual pass, you receive a free month trial to start. To view our membership options, you can click the button below.