The NAU Review — The search for a Valley Fever vaccine, being a tourist in your own town and reducing gastric cancer rates on the Navajo Nation

Sept. 27, 2022

Is Valley Fever the next epidemic? In Arizona, where the fungal disease thrives, it’s a major health concern—one that’s increasing as climate change leads to hotter, drier regions nationwide. It’s critical enough that congressional leaders gave the National Institutes of Health a mandate to develop a Valley Fever vaccine in the next decade. Paul Keim, executive director of the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, is leading a $7.5 million collaborative effort with the University of Washington School of Medicine to develop that vaccine, with PMI professors Bridget Barker and Erik Settles playing key roles in the research.

While people travel from all over the world to enjoy the beauty and attractions northern Arizona offers—from the Grand Canyon and Sedona to Lowell Observatory and Bearizona—we are lucky enough to step outside and be surrounded by these endless opportunities. For World Tourism Day, here’s our list of top things to do in and around Flagstaff. If these aren’t already on your bucket list, plan a trip and find out why people travel from all over for them. Just because you live here doesn’t mean you can’t be a tourist in your own city!