How does #Ebola move from the bat species that are its natural reservoir into primate and human populations? Our latest research in #Ecography suggests that fig trees and #monkeys are a key part of the story. We hypothesize that seasonal rains induce fruiting, which then invite fruit-eating species including bats, monkeys, and people to forage in the same locations facilitating spillover of the virus from one species to another.

https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.06950

Pleased to share our latest research in
#LancetPlanetaryHealth
on the intersections between climate change, biodiversity loss, and infectious diseases

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519624000214

1/3 Excited to share my latest paper with Kyle Dahlin and colleagues on temperature-dependent models of mosquito-borne transmission. We've updated the classic Ross-MacDonald model to address its limitations and uncovered significant findings.

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecm.1603

Excited to announce registration is now open for a symposium on "Viral Traits and Infectious Disease Emergence" to be held September 9-10, 2024 at the University of Georgia. Please join us! https://www.ceid.uga.edu/viraltraits2024/

Pete Hudson speaking about preventing pandemics at the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases and Odum School of Ecology

Enjoyed a great seminar today by Jenn Thompson on “Co-producing sustainable food systems: A transdisciplinary and participatory approach”

Here, Jenn reminds us that interdisciplinary advances occur in the spaces where we begin to get uncomfortable.

I wasn't familiar with the work of Freeth and Caniglia, but I look forward to learning more about it.

Pleased to share our latest semi-parametric model for disease forecasting and scenario analysis. The model uses embedded curve-fitting to adapt to changing conditions but in the context of the familiar compartmental approach to modeling. Application is to COVID-19.

https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011610

It's finally fall in Georgia and that means a lab hike. This time it was the Rhododendron Trail and Chenocetah Mountain in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.

I am pleased to announce an independent postdoctoral opportunity at the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases. Proposals/applications are due November 1, 2023. Applications can be made online at https://www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/344318. Additional information at https://www.ceid.uga.edu/2023/10/11/ceid-independent-postdoctoral-scholar-opportunity/

The Drake lab at UGA is now on Mastodon! For more information check out our website at http://daphnia.ecology.uga.edu/drakelab/