Educational Background
- Bachelor of Arts, Hiram College, 1986
- Master of Science, Louisiana State University, 1989
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Florida, 1996
Specialties: Ecology of arthropod-borne diseases, vector ecology, effect of parasites on avian demography.
I conduct field and laboratory studies to describe and investigate arthropod-borne diseases of birds. I'm specifically interested in the interaction between birds and the arthropods that transmit (vector) their protozoan and viral pathogens. My students and I study many aspects of these relationships, including the role of songbirds and mosquitoes as overwintering mechanisms of eastern equine encephalitis virus and West Nile virus and the abundance and spatial distribution of mosquito, mite, and tick vectors of disease.
I teach Invertebrate Biology; Community Ecology; Disease Ecology; Introduction to Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology (with Roger Laushman and Jane Bennett, Biology); and Field-based Writing: Ecology of the Vermilion River Watershed. I also sponsor student research projects in avian parasitology and vector ecology.
Outside of my teaching and research, I enjoy gardening, cooking, and photography.
Syllabi
- Bio 201 Invertebrate Fall 2010
- Bio FYS116 Syllabus Fall 2011
- Bio 405 Seminar: Emerging Diseases 2009
- Biol 102 Genetics, Evolution & Ecology - Spring 2012
- Bio 205 Community Ecology Fall 2009
- Bio 206/207 Disease Ecology Syllabus Fall 2011
