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Research summary/interests
Many arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are resurgent, are spreading to new environments, and are responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality around the globe as climate change and urbanization enhance opportunities for spread and interspecies transmission. My primary research goals are to understand commonalities in patterns of arbovirus population evolution, how these features account for their success in emergence and epidemics, and how these evolutionary processes can be exploited to prevent disease. The underlying factors that promote (re)emergence are poorly understood; therefore, my team utilizes basic and applied research that emphasizes understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in establishing and maintaining the host-pathogen relationship, the role of host-specific and pathogen-specific evolutionary pressures in defining these relationships, and understanding the mechanisms of inter-species transmission. These areas primarily focus on Zika virus; however, four other arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti- dengue, yellow fever, Mayaro, and chikungunya- remain circulating in the Americas, and my research interests align with all of these viruses. If the current Zika virus situation has taught us anything, it is that arbovirus emergence/re-emergence is the “new normal” in the Americas. Future outbreaks are unpredictable but likely are inevitable. Therefore, our overall goal is to develop strategies to interrupt transmission or predict a zoonotic pathogen’s adaptability or evolvability.
Research funding grants