Since the world's first epidemic, we’ve built treatments for various infectious diseases. Yet, our understanding of disease transmission, and the mechanisms behind it, have not advanced much from the 19th century days of Louis Pasteur. Lydia Bourouiba, Disease Transmission Scientist, explains that, to uncover remaining secrets behind disease transmission, we must leverage advances in fluid dynamics and biophysics. Lydia and her team are unveiling the mechanics behind airborne disease transmission, revealing how pathogens travel from a point source (the mouth), into the air, and eventually through ventilation systems, hospitals, airplanes, and more.

Through advanced mechanistic modeling, Lydia can tell us how to prevent disease outbreaks before they occur. Watch her TEDMED 2018 Talk to discover how we can make better life or death decisions to reduce the spread of infectious disease.