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    Principle Investigators

    • Dr. Samantha Wisely, Director

      Director of CHeRI, Professor

      Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

      352-846-0645 | wisely@ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: Disease ecology, molecular ecology, biogeography, wildlife biology

    • Dr. Jason K. Blackburn

      Professor

      Department of Geography

      352-294-7501 | jkblackburn@ufl.edu | @JasonKBlackburn

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: Zoonotic diseases, wildlife diseases, disease transmission pathways, ecological niche modeling, spatio-temporal modeling of epidemiology, disease ecology, anthrax transmission dynamics

    • Dr. Nathan Burkett-Cadena

      Associate Professor

      Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

      772-778-7200 ext. 141 | nburkettcadena@ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: Host preference of blood-feeding insects, transmission ecology of arboviruses, pathogen surveillance

    • Dr. Juan Campos-Krauer

      Wildlife Extension Veterinarian, Clinical Assistant Professor

      Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

      (352) 294-4327 | jmcampos@ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: Extension and outreach programming to deer farmers in Florida

    • Dr. John Lednicky

      Research Professor

      Department of Environmental & Global Health

      352-273-9204 | jlednicky@phhp.ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: Microbiology, virology

    • Dr. Nicole Stacy

      Clinical Associate Professor

      Department of Aquatic Animal Health and Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences

      352-294-4093 | stacyn@ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: clinical pathology of exotic species, especially aquatic species and reptiles, environmental toxicology and wildlife conservation

    • Dr. Kuttichantran Subramaniam

      Associate Professor

      Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology

      352-215-7278 | kuttichantran@ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: Emerging Aquatic Animal Viruses (EAAV) and sequencing

    • Dr. Heather Walden

      Associate Professor

      Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology

      352-294-4125 | hdstockdale@ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: parasites of importance to veterinary medicine, the relationships between parasite and host and resulting pathogenesis of disease, parasitic infections or infestations

    • Dr. Marcelo Wallau

      Associate Professor, Forages Extension Specialist

      Agronomy Department

      352-260-2254 | mwallau@ufl.edu

      Profile

      Field of Study/Research: Forage production and management

    • Post-Doctoral Researchers

      Dr. Pacharapong (First) Khrongsee 

       PI: Kuttichantran Subramaniam

      Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology

      firstpachar@ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: Virus phylogeny

       

      Dr. Kristin Sloyer

      PI: Nathan Burkett-Cadena 

      Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory 

      ksloyer@ufl.edu 

      Field of Study/Research: Vector control 

    • Current Students

      Emily DeRuyterNo Photo

      Graduate Student, PhD | Advisor: John Lednicky

      Department of Environmental & Global Health

      emilyderuyter@phhp.ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: Microbiology, virology


      Savannah GraceSavannah Grace 

      Graduate Student, PhD | Advisor: Samantha Wisely

      Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

      savannah.grace@ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: Wildlife disease ecology and molecular ecology

       

       Miranda Imeri

      Graduate Student, PhD | Advisor: Marcelo Wallau

      Agronomy Department

      imeri.miranda@ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: Wildlife conservation, interactions of wildlife and domestic animals and humans at the peri-domestic interface

       

      Vilma Cooper (Montenegro) Vilma Montenegro Castro

      Graduate Student, PhD | Advisor: Nathan Burkett-Cadena

      Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

      vilma.montenegro@ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: Culicoides research, sustainable agriculture, pest management strategies, and public education

       

      András VajkaiNo Photo 2

      Visiting Scholar, PhD | Advisor: Samantha Wisely

      Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation 

      andras.vajkai@ufl.edu 

      Field of Study/Research: Economics 

       

      Andy Williams

      Graduate Student, PhD | Advisor: John Lednicky

      Department of Environmental and Global Health 

      williams.robert@ufl.edu 

      Field of Study/Research: Microbiology, virology 

       

    • Past Students

      2025 Graduates

      • Vilma Cooper (Montenegro), PhD in Medical Entomology; Advisor: Nathan Burkett-Cadena
      • Savannah Grace, PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; Advisor: Samantha Wisely
      • Emily DeRuyter, PhD in One Health- Environmental & Global Health; Advisor: John Lednicky
      • Lily Maxwell, MS in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; Advisor: Juan Campos-Krauer

      2024 Graduates

      • An-Chi Cheng, PhD in Veterinary Medical Sciences; Advisor: Juan Campos-Krauer
      • Austin Surphlis, MS in Veterinary Medical Sciences; Advisor: Kuttichantran Subramaniam
      • Morgan Rockwell, MS in Entomology; Advisor: Nathan Burkett-Cadena

       

       

    • Staff

      Abigail Bierwerth

      Necropsy Technician | Campos Lab

      Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences

      abigailbierwerth@ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: zoonoses of wildlife

       

      Mackenzie Jensen

      Necropsy Technician | Campos Lab

      Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences

      mjensen1@ufl.edu 

      Field of Study/Research: zoonoses of wildlife

       

       

      Lily Maxwell Lily Maxwell

      Laboratory Manager | Campos Lab

      Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences 

      lillianmaxwell@ufl.edu 

      Field of Study/Research: Wildlife disease ecology, large animal disease research, deerpox epidemiology 

       

      Raphaella Paes Lopez

      Laboratory Technician | Burkett-Cadena Lab

      Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory 

      rpaeslopez@ufl.edu 

      Field of Study/Research: Vector control 

       

       

      Tanise StennTanise Stenn

      Molecular Biology Lab Technician | Burkett-Cadena Lab

      Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

      tanise@ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: Molecular biology and host preference of blood-meal

       

      Yasmin Tavares

      Biological Scientist | Wisely Lab

      Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

      yasmintavares@ufl.edu 

      Field of Study/Research: Epidemiology of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, disease ecology using a One Health approach

       

      Kristen WilsonKristen Wilson

      Biological Scientist, Laboratory Manager | Wisely Lab

      Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

      knwilson@ufl.edu

      Field of Study/Research: Epidemiology of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, disease ecology using a One Health approach

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