“We’ve seen syphilis used again and again as a tool over the centuries to demonize and stigmatize socially marginalized communities,” Zuckerman says. “That’s the narrative that’s dominated.”

Mississippi State University’s Lourdes Cardozo-Gaibisso is a selection for one of only five 2024 Early-Career Research Fellows in Education Research by the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. This prestigious fellowship highlights a select few researchers in the nation for their innovative contributions to STEM and environmental education in the Gulf of Mexico region or Alaska.