Environmental Change and Human and Wildlife Health
We study the effects of environmental change on the health of wildlife and human health. We study numerous environmental changes, including climate change, chemical contaminants, biodiversity loss, habitat loss and change, and invasive species. In the laboratory, we conduct research on the snail-borne disease, human schistosomiasis, on mosquito-borne diseases, and on infectious diseases of amphibians. Students can work in any of these systems. We also conduct data science research, gathering information from the literature to evaluate across studies how various environmental changes affect disease risk. Hence, we have hands-on projects in the laboratory as well as projects that students can complete on their own time from where ever they are most comfortable.
My laboratory is quite big and offer lots of diverse research projects. There are 10 PhD students, 4 postdocs, lab manager, and often 20 undergraduate research assistants each semester. So, you have the opportunity to meet lots of people and will have a substantial support network. Many of our students stay in the lab and eventually become co-authors on scientific papers. We even have had undergraduates as first authors on scientific papers and as nth authors on papers published in the journal Nature. We conduct highly important research on climate change, sustainability, planetary boundaries, and human and wildlife health. Thus, much of our research is at the interface of environmental and health issues that are currently critical to humanity.