The College of Health and Life Sciences held its first lecture in their Young Alumni Speaker Series in Albertson Hall at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The Department of Biological Sciences welcomed Lance Thurlow, who presented his lecture Staphylococcus aureus and the Inflammation Paradox to more than 50 students and faculty members.

While very few people probably took everything home, he made it so everyone took something home. He simplified it enough that even if you dont know that much about microbiology, you could still understand it, said Joanna Fay, a molecular cell biology graduate student.

Thurlow explained the infection and what he and his team are doing to counteract it. There is no vaccine for this disease, which has become a problem in the United States and has passed HIV/AIDS as the number one infectious disease in America.

According to Thurlow, there are around 90,000 cases each year that result in approximately 19,000 deaths. He also said somewhere between 25 to 50 percent of people have a form of Staphylococcus in their nose and many will carry it without ever showing any symptoms.

He conducts his research at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

It is very relevant to current medical science because it is a huge problem. I work at the hospital and half the people that come in have Staphylococcus or symptoms of it, said Justin Kerby, a graduate student of molecular cell biology at Fort Hays.

Thurlow earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 2002 and his Master of Science degree in 2005, both from Fort Hays State University. He then went on the complete his doctorate from Kansas State University in 2009.

The College of Health and Life Sciences will be continuing their Young Alumni Speaker Series throughout the year.

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Alumnus gives guest lecture