An expanded name for a historic department

Dean Thomas A. LaVeist announced today a change in the name of one department. The Department of Tropical Medicine will now be known as the Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease.

Dean LaVeist highlighted the department’s long history at the school, dating back to before the school’s founding in 1912, and the fact that Tulane has the only combined school of public health and tropical medicine.

While tropical medicine – a branch of medicine that deals with communicable and noncommunicable diseases in the tropics – is a recognized field, the term is not universally known outside of scientific circles. “Infectious disease is easily understood and, as we have seen during the pandemic, all too critical in the world we inhabit,” said LaVeist.

School officials highlight that the new name will not significantly change the inner workings of the department but will make it more recognizable to prospective students, parents and funders. Dr. Ron Blanton, chair of the department, also hopes to establish a joint certificate in infectious disease epidemiology with departments of the SPHTM and the Tulane School of Medicine.

The name change becomes effective on July 1.