EAST LANSING, MI (AP)-- As the Ebola virus draws the world's attention to the danger of disease spread, a Michigan State University researcher is working to provide better tools to measure the human health risk from microbes and to train researchers in their use.
Biosystems engineering professor Jade Mitchell is doing the work with help from a $1 million National Institutes of Health grant.
The university says one key goal is to "link quantitative scientists such as engineers to biologists and social scientists."
The process is called quantitative microbial risk assessment, and Michigan State says it involves four steps to characterizing the human health risk from exposure to various microorganisms.
Mitchell says it's important to bring biological and social scientists into the work to better address public health needs.