Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
CIDD embraces all scales and components of infectious disease biology. Our interdisciplinary approach, coupled with a dynamic viewpoint, provides insight into how to prevent or reduce infections.
Ask CIDD
Submit Your COVID-19 Questions Here.
We answer a new question Monday through Friday at our COVID-19 FAQ page and provide a new video answer each Monday via YouTube. Subscribe here.
No questioners' names are posted in the videos. Please email your questions to: AskCIDD@psu.edu
The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (CIDD) at Penn State University is comprised of more than 50 faculty experts in infectious disease.
Below is a list of questions submitted by the public and answered by CIDD faculty members.
You can subscribe to our YouTube playlist here.
Previous AskCIDD Videos:
How do steroids work against COVID?
Should I get a flu shot this year?
Can I take my mask off when I sneeze?
What do disease models tell us?
Can the virus be transmitted during sex?
Why is rapid turnaround on testing important?
Why should masks cover your nose?
Should I send my kids back to school? How to decide.
Is air pollution related to COVID-19?
Is wearing a face shield the same as wearing a mask?
How can universities function in the fall?
Does Remdesivir work for COVID-19?
What are quarantine "pods" or "bubbles?"
What is the Data 4 Action project?
Do I need to wear a mask outside, alone?
Can pooling samples speed up testing?
Why did SARS and MERS disappear quicker?
Why do symptoms vary so much between people?
What do we know about pregnancy and COVID-19?
What is the "clean hand, dirty hand" technique?
How can I vote safely during COVID-19?
When do the infected become infectious?
How safe is restaurant takeout food?
What should I do if restrictions lift?
Does virus transmission have anything to do with 5G?
When and why should I wear a cloth mask?
Should I wipe down my groceries?
Can supplements boost my immunity?
Should I keep my child's vaccine appointments?
Can I spread the virus on my shoes?
What's the safest way to pay for things?
What about errors in antibody testing?
How do coronavirus tests work?
How does alcohol kill this virus?
Can coronavirus be transmitted by mosquitoes?
When can a sick family member rejoin the household?
Is SARS-CoV-2 present in fecal matter?
How do plasma transfers for COVID-19 work?
What are COVID-19's long-term health effects?
How can I exercise outside responsibly?
How did zoo cats get infected?
What does it mean for a virus to peak?
How is COVID-19 different from the flu?
How does hand-washing affect the virus?
What do we know about drug treatments?
Can I find out if I already had COVID-19?
Is it safe to go for a walk outside?
Is it safe to do my own shopping?
Can I get coronavirus from someone breathing on me?
What should I do if someone in my home is infected?
How long will this shutdown last?
Explore CIDD Research
CIDD People
We’ve found many viruses that are beneficial for plant hosts. I think that acute viruses that make their host sick are actually an exception.
Maliheh Safari
PhD Student
At CIDD, we study infections from the perspective of the parasitic agent. Our faculty and research span human, animal, and plant systems to determine the unique demands of the parasitic lifestyle, the responses of the hosts and how the environment affects these interactions.
This approach yields novel insights into the biological processes that drive the biology and evolution of infectious agents, and the processes that can be used to limit their harm to individual and population health.
Events
Monday Jan
25
Nita Bharti, Assistant Professor of Biology and Huck Early Career Professor, and Christina Faust, Postdoctoral Scholar (Bharti Lab) , Penn State
CIDD Lunch: Centre County Mobility Patterns
Thursday Jan
28
William (Bill) Bahnfleth, IEE Affiliate Researcher and Professor of Architectural Engineering, Miriam Freedman, Associate Professor of Chemistry, and Tak Sin Wong, Wormley Family Early Career Professor and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and of Biomedical Engineering , Penn State
CIDD Seminar/Lightning Talks: Titles TBA
Monday Feb
01