Public Health Ethics & Wastewater Surveillance Research by Prof. Kata Chillag, Ph.D., Department of Public Health, Davidson College

Kata Chillag, Ph.D., Hamilton McKay Professor in Biosciences & Human Health; Chair, Department of Public Health, Davidson College

Applied public health ethics as essential to public health practice and decision-making: Highlights from work on infectious diseases wastewater surveillance 

In this informal session, Kata will explore factors shaping key ethical issues in contemporary public health practice, policymaking, and research. Drawing from her career, she will discuss the necessity of "real-world" ethical tools and frameworks tailored to the contexts in which public health work takes place. The talk will highlight her work with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) on ethical issues in infectious disease wastewater disease surveillance, including development of an applied framework and training for U.S. state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments, and other public health institutions.  

Kata Chillag, PhD, is the Hamilton McKay Professor of Biosciences and Human Health at Davidson College. Trained in medical anthropology and applied epidemiology, her work explores the ethical, epidemiological, political, and sociocultural dimensions of public health. Before transitioning to academia in 2017, she spent nearly 20 years in governmental public health. She began her career at the CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer, continuing her work at the CDC before moving to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Global Affairs and then the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, an advisory body to President Barack Obama. She also previously served as the Hubert H. Humphrey Distinguished Visiting Professor of Global Health at Macalester College. Her policy-, practice-, and research- work have addressed polio eradication, HIV/AIDS, influenza, and Ebola virus disease, with field experience in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the United States. Kata’s current and recent work focuses on applied public health ethics, infectious diseases, U.S. underserved rural areas, and public health emergencies. She teaches courses on global health, public health ethics, and water and health. She also occasionally teaches a course on public health and film—part of her concerted effort to “professionalize" her love of movies.