Smallpox was certified eradicated in 1980, but I first learned about the disease's twisty, storied history in 1996 while interning at the World Health Organization. I was a college student fascinated by the sheer magnitude of what it took to wipe a human disease from the earth for the first time.
Over the years, I've turned to that history over and over, looking for inspiration and direction on how to be more ambitious when confronting other public health threats of my day.
