Global Disease Biology

Hello! I am Alisa Chernikova, a third year here at UC Davis. If you think back to your very first year at Davis, you may remember the large pamphlet you were given with all of the various majors offered at this school. Since I had my mind set on studying diseases, I knew immediately that GDB was the right fit for me. However I never expected how much I would fall in love with this major.

Hi current Global Disease Biology students! My name is Allison Berkowitz. As an alum, I can look back at my time at Davis and see I really was trying to figure out, what drives health? This took me on a wild journey of classes from Psychology to Nutrition to Sociology and even Economics, which I ended up double majoring in. I took a range of internships. Nutrition? Interned as a lab assistant and transposed French dietary details focused on maternal and children health in Niger, Africa under Dr. K. Ryan Wessells and Dr. Sonya Y. Hess. Political? Interned for Congressman John Garamendi.

“It has been an honor to study Global Disease Biology beside such motivated and passionate peers. Congratulations to all the graduates and thank you to everyone who helped me get here.”

In this series, the GDB Advising Team interviews professors that play an integral part in our GDB curriculum. We are so grateful to have such amazing and compassionate faculty as part of the team!

We recognize that many GDB students share information about practicum mentors and opportunities during in-person interactions within GDB courses and in our office. In our Practicum Pods series, current GDB students are interviewed by GDB Peer Advisors in a conversation that delves into their practicum projects! We highly encourage all of our students to tune in to a new Practicum Pod every month to learn about different types of research, mentorship, and project specifics!

Hey Fellow Aggies! 

My name is Shelby and I’m a member of the class of 2018. At Davis, I majored in Global Disease Biology and completed my practicum in the Gareau-Reardon Lab studying neural pathways that facilitate communication of the microbiome-gut-brain Axis. I was also on scholarship as an ROTC cadet and was a member of the Alpha phi sorority. Upon graduating, I commissioned as an Active Duty Medical Services Officer. Soon after, I served as a Platoon leader and Executive Officer, completed a combat deployment to Saudi Arabia and earned my Expert Field Medic Badge. 

In this series, the GDB Advising Team interviews professors that play an integral part in our GDB curriculum. We are so grateful to have such amazing and compassionate faculty as part of the team!

Hello GDB community!

We recognize that many GDB students share information about practicum mentors and opportunities during in-person interactions within GDB courses and in our office. In our Practicum Pods series, current GDB students are interviewed by GDB Peer Advisors in a conversation that delves into their practicum projects! We highly encourage all of our students to tune in to a new Practicum Pod every month to learn about different types of research, mentorship, and project specifics!

Our Global Disease Biology program's Freshman Decision Webinar hosted on April 27th, 2021 4 PM PST. Hear our Department Chair, Dr. David Rizzo, our Master Advisor, Dr. Johan Leveau, our Major Advisor, Francesca De Las Alas, and our Advising Assistant, Saranjit Uppal share about the major and the opportunities at UC Davis. For any and all questions, please email gdb-advise@ucdavis.edu.

We recognize that many GDB students share information about practicum mentors and opportunities during in-person interactions within GDB courses and in our office. In our Practicum Pods series, current GDB students are interviewed by GDB Peer Advisors in a conversation that delves into their practicum projects! We highly encourage all of our students to tune in to a new Practicum Pod every month to learn about different types of research, mentorship, and project specifics!

Hi everyone! My name is Alexzandrya Smith, I am a transfer third year global disease biology major. During my finally year at community college I took an infectious disease course that really caught my attention and I wanted to learn more about it. Finding the GDB major really started to open my mind more to this ideas and the classes I have taken have fed my interest when it comes to disease.

We recognize that many GDB students share information about practicum mentors and opportunities during in-person interactions within GDB courses and in our office. In our Practicum Pods series, current GDB students are interviewed by GDB Peer Advisors in a conversation that delves into their practicum projects! We highly encourage all of our students to tune in to a new Practicum Pod every month to learn about different types of research, mentorship, and project specifics!