Hannah O’Grady, a student at Mount Holyoke College, worked in the lab of Dr. Alex Strauss. Abstract An important part of understanding how diseases spread and impact a community is understanding the tradeoffs that occur when a parasite generalizes. While sampling ponds in Whitehall Forest we discovered a potentially novel microsporidian that was able to
Katie Yan, a student from Skidmore College, worked in Dr. Sonia Altizer‘s lab. Abstract Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) is a protozoan parasite found in Monarchs (Danaus plexippus). Same or similar OE-like parasites have been found in Queens (D. gilippus) and other Danaus butterflies. Experimental cross infection provided evidence of parasite specialization on natal host species via
Anna Shattuck, a student from Tulane University, worked in the lab of Dr. Andy Davis. Abstract Freezing is a defensive behavior seen in many different animals as a response to extreme threats such as predators. While research on freezing behavior is widespread, there is little known about how parasites may influence it. A non-lethal nematode
Kailah Massey from the University of Georgia worked with Dr. Emlyn Resetarits. Abstract Trematode parasites have a complex life cycle that infects and castrates snails as their initial host. (Wood et al., 2007). The snails our team observed were Elimia type snails. These snails have top-down control over algae in aquatic ecosystems. Snails have total control over
Nathan Garcia-Diaz, a student from Willamette University, worked in the lab of Dr. Ash Pathak. Abstract The effects of nutrition on malaria transmission was studied by collecting the most influential components of Vectorial Capacity. Vectorial Capacity (C) measures the Anopheline mosquito’s efficacy at transmitting the Plasmodium berghei parasites, and the largest factors impacting C are
Roland Berg, from Lewis & Smith College, worked with Megan Tomamichel and others in the lab of Dr. Jeb Byers. Abstract Shrimp black gill disease (sBG), caused by the parasite Hyalophysa lynni, may be contributing to the recent declines in commercial shrimp populations off the Southeastern US coast. H. lynni attaches to shrimp gill tissue,
Walter Avila, a student from Emory University, worked in the lab of Dr. Shannon Quinn. Abstract Modeling changes in organelle morphology in response to infections is pivotal in studying pathogenic behaviors. Mitochondria are the most meaningful organelles to study because their structure changes dramatically in the presence of potentially fatal infections. Accurately modeling mitochondria could
Mireya Dorado, a student at Northeastern University, worked in Dr. Patrick Stephen’s lab studying pathogen spillover Ebola is a deadly filovirus that infects a variety of mammals including humans. Since the first documented outbreak i n 1976, there have been numerous field studies searching for the source of the spillover of Ebola. Only a few
Jacqueline Dworaczyk, a student at Arizona State University, worked in the lab of Dr. Andreas Handel. Telemedicine has become increasingly popular during the age of Covid-19. During a public health crisis, telemedicine could be used as a tool to triage patients and prevent burden on the health care system. In an exploratory data analysis, we
Madeline Giner, from the University of Texas at San Antonio, studied the phylogenetics of Dracunculus in the lab of Dr. Christopher Cleveland. The Dracunculus genus contains parasitic nematodes that infect a variety of hosts, including reptiles and mammals. Dracunculus medinensis, the Guinea worm, has gained much attention due to its history of infecting humans. Less
Salil Goyal, a student at the University of California Berkeley, worked with Dr. Andreas Handel. Models have become increasingly important in the field of infectious disease epidemiology, and broadly in the field of public health, in recent years because the ability of scientists and officials to make educated decisions based on data is important. However,
Carlos Martinez-Mejia from New York University worked with Dr. Lewis Bartlett. Abstract Hydrogen peroxide has proven antimicrobial benefits and is created in honey when honeybees add glucose oxidase. This behavior makes honey bees another self-medicating animal and gives honey the longevity and antiseptic properties that we see. Hydrogen peroxide has been tested for toxicity in
