DPH panelists take the spotlight after showing of ‘Contagion’ on the big screen

The saying, “art imitates life," was on full display recently when three DPH experts joined a panel discussion framed around the film, “Contagion.”

The March 24 event held at the Nickelodeon, a nonprofit movie theater in downtown Columbia, included a panel discussion joined by Dr. Linda Bell, Dr. Marco Tori and Destiny Williams following a screening of the 2011 movie that features CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers and local public officials responding to a viral outbreak turned pandemic.  

Though dramatized by the movie, the film's public health response offers a glimpse into the work of applied epidemiologists. The screenwriter of “Contagion” worked with experts from the World Health Organization and the CDC, hoping to produce realistic portrayals of viral transmission, contact tracing, vaccine development, and public health response.

The Nickelodeon hosted the event as part of a grant it was awarded called Science on Screen, which pairs films from the world of science, technology, and medicine with experts in that field. The Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) partnered with the theater to show the movie and present a panel of applied epidemiologists as part of National Evening of Science on the Screen.  

Invited by CSTE to sit on the panel, Drs. Bell and Tori, both EIS alumni, and CSTE Fellow Destiny Williams discussed elements of the film that were realistic and offered their thoughts on applied epidemiology work. They also spoke about some of the interesting outbreaks they have worked on and their motivation to continue working in public health.

The movie and panel fostered a lively discussion about the importance of local epidemiologists for protecting the health of our communities.