 It was at the Yale Arbovirus Research Unit (YARU) that Jordi Casals discovered and named the Lassa virus in 1969.He went on to describe and classify over a thousand viruses, and was considered an authority in viral taxonomy.As of February 2017, the dean of the Yale School of Public Health is Sten Vermund (MD, PhD), formerly a professor of pediatrics, medicine, health policy, and obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University.