David Bell is a medical anthropologist who specializes in public health emergency preparedness and disaster response. His interests also include global health, syndromic epidemiology, politics of health, and community concerns for environmental contamination. He received his MPH with attention to epidemiology and international health, and his MA in medical anthropology, both from Case Western Reserve University, and his PhD in cultural anthropology from SUNY University at Buffalo. For over 12 years he has worked as an assistant or visiting professor in both public health and anthropology, as well as an active public health practitioner.