VectorED Network · Training Programs
VectorED Academy
VectorED Academy is a professional development webinar series helping educators build confidence in vector-borne disease topics and deliver engaging, effective education to their communities.
Upcoming Webinars
Practical, evidence-based strategies to prevent bites and promote safe field practices. Participants will learn how to communicate protective measures effectively across various settings and audiences.
Associate Professor of Communication
University at Buffalo
Explore how misinformation and disinformation spread, why they are persuasive, and practical strategies for recognizing and responding to false information.
Evaluation Specialist
The Pennsylvania State University
Learn how to select the most effective needs assessment methods and tools to gather meaningful data, engage stakeholders, and guide informed decision-making.
Professor of Practice
Cornell University
Core principles of risk communication during emerging or rapidly evolving vector-borne disease threats. Participants will learn strategies for crafting clear, credible, and timely messages that build trust and combat uncertainty.
Past Webinars
Assistant Professor
The Pennsylvania State University
A clear overview of major U.S. vectors, disease ecology, and transmission cycles to establish essential baseline knowledge. Participants learned how to interpret and translate surveillance data for educational and outreach contexts.
Professor
Johns Hopkins University
Practical strategies for motivating audiences to adopt protective behaviors. Participants explored motivational interviewing techniques and behavior change frameworks they can immediately apply in programs and one-on-one conversations.
Penn State College of Medicine
A beginner-friendly introduction to designing and facilitating focus groups and analyzing qualitative data. Attendees will gain practical tools and templates to support needs assessments, program planning, and evaluation.
Kirby C. Stafford III, Ph.D. — Chief Scientist & State Entomologist Emeritus, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
In honor of Lyme Disease Awareness Month, this webinar explores how Lyme disease was discovered, its global history, and how medical understanding has evolved over decades of study. Participants will gain insight into how this history continues to shape prevention and treatment today.