Research Areas
I am a wildlife ecologist with training in zoology and veterinary medicine, and I have conducted research at the intersection of disease ecology, immunological ecology, and physiological ecology. I primarily examine infectious disease dynamics at molecular, cellular, organismal, and population levels, with the primary goal of understanding host-pathogen interactions. As a veterinarian, I possess a deep understanding of the physiological, immunological, and pathological processes involved in a host’s response to disease. As a zoologist and ecologist with veterinary training, I am thus in the unique position of being able to examine disease processes in natural systems from the point of view of internal host dynamics, and to conduct comprehensive immunological studies in wildlife. By studying environmentally transmitted diseases, my work also bridges the gap between internal host ecosystems and the external environment. Overall, I strive to understand why hosts get the diseases they do, when they do. To this end, my research involves three main, complementary themes:
1. Host susceptibility to disease, and how susceptibility and disease dynamics fluctuate seasonally
2. Within-host coinfection and immune trade offs
3. Examining hosts as internal ecosystems