Marquette University's COVID Conversations COVID Conversations

This Covid Conversation looks back at the growth of Marquette’s Covid Research Initiative to evaluate how the various projects that emerged under its umbrella provide templates and ideas for collaborative research.  It is especially noteworthy that each participant wears several hats at Marquette. We also consider what it meant to produce 24 episodes of this podcast and where it may go in the future.  Participants include:

Dr. Edward Blumenthal, Associate Dean of Faculty, Research, and Graduate Studies in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and professor of Biology; former co-director of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute.

Dr. Sandra Hunter, chief convener of the Covid-19 Research Initiative, director of the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center, and professor of Exercise Science.

Dr. Lezlie Knox, organizer of the Covid Conversations podcast, and associate professor and chair of the Department of History

Dr. Andrea Schneider, inaugural director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership and director of the Alternative Dispute Resolution program in the Marquette University Law School where she is a professor.

Lezlie Knox and Donald Leech (University of Virginia at Wise) discuss his recent co-authored book, Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories: QAnon, 5G, the New World Order and Other Viral Ideas (McFarland, 2021).  As two medievalists, they focus on similarities between the Black Death and our current pandemic, as well as why conspiracy theories are so appealing and how we can counter them.  Leech also reflects on research as a collaborative process, sharing what he learned from working with scholars who come from policy and education fields, medicine and social justice, along with folklore and history.

Appearing in this episode:

Dr. Lezlie Knox - Associate Professor of History and History Department Chair, Marquette University.

Dr. Donald Leech - Associate Professor of History, the University of Virginia at Wise. 

According to the World Health Organization, people are not only living through a pandemic but also an “infodemic” that has made it difficult to know which information and advice about the virus are accurate. In this conversation, Marquette colleagues discuss this infodemic and why it is different from tabloid news and other types of misinformation that have circulated in the past.  We also discuss societal and individual ways to deal with the infodemic including our own role in challenging fake news when we encounter it.  Participants include:

Valerie Beech, M.S.L.S.- An associate librarian at Raynor Memorial Libraries with research interests in the assessment of freshman English research skills and subject responsibilities in business, advertising, and foreign languages.

Dr. Amrita George-  An Assistant Professor in the College of Business with research interests in health information technology, business intelligence and analytics, and emergent technologies.

Dr. Erin Hoekstra- An Assistant Professor in Social and Cultural Sciences with research interests in health and medical sociology, social movements, and social change.  She regularly incorporates skill development in information and data literacy as part of her teaching.

Dr. Laurieann Klockow - A virologist in the Biomedical Sciences Department who teaches about microbiology and outbreaks, including a new class focused on understanding Covid-19.

The panelists from Mask Up Marquette Episode 4 in Season 1 reconvene to review the current science on COVID-19 transmission and mask-wearing.  They discuss how masks are still effective in preventing transmission of the COVID-19 variants now circulating in the U.S, how winter affects viral transmission, and the importance of continuing to wear a mask even if you have been vaccinated. Though Americans are approaching the one-year anniversary of dealing with COVID-19, the panelists maintain that a mask still remains one of the best tools in containing this pandemic until enough people can be vaccinated. Participants include:

Dr. Paul Gasser - A biologist and neuroscientist in Biomedical Sciences who teaches biochemistry.

Mike Haischer (HSci ‘14) -  The research lab manager at the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center and a current PhD student in Exercise and Rehabilitation Science.

Dr. Laurieann Klockow - A virologist who teaches about microbiology, including a new class focused on understanding Covid-19.

Dr. Paula Papanek - A physiologist and Director of Graduate Studies for Clinical and Translational Rehabilitation Science and faculty member in the Department of Physical Therapy.

For more information on the podcast or the research being done at Marquette University, you can visit Marquette's COVID-19 research initiative here: https://www.marquette.edu/innovation/covid-19-research.php

You can email the podcast at covidconvos@marquette.edu

Music is "Phase 2" by Xylo Ziko https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase_2

This week our panelists, three Marquette undergraduate students from different disciplines, reflect on their experiences with COVID messaging during the past 10 months. They discuss the efficacy of mask-promoting and social-distancing campaigns; recall their efforts to find reliable sources of information on COVID; and offer their assessments of Marquette's communications to students about the campus's response to the virus.

Dr. Brittany Pladek - Associate Professor of English

Georgia Wahl - Nursing Major

Maggie Thompson - Biomedical Science Major

Johnathan White - Civil Engineering Major

For more information on the podcast or the research being done at Marquette University, you can visit Marquette's COVID-19 research initiative here: https://www.marquette.edu/innovation/covid-19-research.php

You can email the podcast at covidconvos@marquette.edu

Music is "Phase 2" by Xylo Ziko https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase_2

In this bonus episode, the Covid Conversations Organizing Team looks back at season One to discuss some of their favorite episodes and discuss the things they learned. They also look ahead to provide potential topics for season two. 

Appearing in this episode:


Dr. Laurieann Klockow, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Lezlie Knox, Department of History
Dr. Sameena Mulla, Department of Social and Cultural Sciences
Dr. Brittany Pladek, Department of English
Elizabeth Wawrzyniak, Raynor Library and the Digital Scholarship Lab
Benjamin Linzy, Department of History

For more information on the podcast or the research being done at Marquette University, you can visit Marquette's COVID-19 research initiative here: https://www.marquette.edu/innovation/covid-19-research.php

You can email the podcast at covidconvos@marquette.edu

Music is "Phase 2" by Xylo Ziko https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase_2