Marcy J. Souza, assistant professor of biomedical and diagnostic sciences, will present “Epidemics of Less Glamorous Wildlife: What Can We Do to Stop Them?” on Friday during this week’s Science Forum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The Science Forum is a weekly brown-bag lunch series that allows professors and area scientists to discuss their research with the general public in a conversational presentation.

The presentations begin at noon on Fridays in Room C-D of Thompson-Boling Arena. Attendees can bring lunch or purchase it at the arena. Each presentation is 40 minutes long and is followed by a question-and-answer session. Science Forum presentations are free and open to the public.

When we think of saving wildlife, animals such as elephants, rhinos, pandas and tigers come to mind, but two less glamorous types of animals—amphibians and bats—have been under attack from various threats, including fungal diseases. Souza will discuss the major epidemics that amphibians and bats face and talk about interventions afoot to stop them.

Here’s list of future Science Forums:

Friday, March 28: Stan Wullschleger, project director of Next-Generation Ecosystems Experiments—Arctic at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, presenting “Arctic Alaska: Wild, Wonderful and Warming”

Friday, April 4: Steven Wise, associate professor of mathematics, presenting “Simulations for Solutions: Solving Problems Through Scientific Computing”

Friday, April 11: Stacy Clark, research forester for the U.S Forest Service, discussing “American Chestnut Restoration: Can We Bring Back the Mighty Giant?”

Friday, April 25: Pete Claussen, founder and CEO of Gulf and Ohio Railways Inc. and Knoxville Locomotive Works, discussing “Green Locomotives”

The Science Forum is sponsored by the UT Office of Research and Quest, an initiative to raise awareness of the research, scholarship and creative activity happening on campus.

For more information, visit http://scienceforum.utk.edu.