Ecology alumna Christina Faust was the keynote speaker at the annual Athens-area Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia Annual Clementi Holder Promises to Keep Breakfast on Sept. 9. Faust is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Penn State University, where she researches how human activities influence the transmission of pathogens across species, and how that influences human disease risk.

A UGA Honors student and Foundation Fellow, Faust received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Odum School of Ecology in 2009 and her doctorate from Princeton University in 2016. She has held postdoctoral positions at Oxford University, Montana State University, University of Glasgow. Among her many honors and awards are the Udall Scholarship, Truman Scholarship and Mitchell Scholarship.

Faust, a native of Athens and graduate of Cedar Shoals High School, is a lifetime and Gold Award Girl Scout.

“Dr. Faust is undertaking extraordinary research at the interface of landscape change and infectious disease emergence. At every stage of her career, her research has integrated diverse approaches and global perspectives, from studies of primate malarias in Asia, to parasitic worms and drug treatment in Uganda, to pathogen spillover in Australia,” said Sonia Altizer, interim dean of the Odum School. “Dr. Faust demonstrated remarkable talent and drive during her time in Ecology at UGA, and continues to do amazing work. The Odum School is honored to co-sponsor this virtual event in support of the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia and hear Dr. Faust’s remarks.”

The annual Clementi Holder Promises to Keep Breakfast took place over Zoom. The Odum School of Ecology co-sponsored a virtual table at this event, and Odum School faculty, staff and students were invited to join.