Top Row: Majie Foster, Kiet Ngo, Anne Payne, Jessica Stout, Sean Bialosuknia, Elyse Banker, Anthony Arancio
Bottom Row: Laura Munn, Lili Kuo, Alexis Russell, Lindsay Tomaszek, Joesph Maffei, Alexander Ciota, Alan Dupuis, Victoria Schnurr, Hannah Theriault, Sara Bickersmith, Rachel Lange
Current PhD Students
Rachel Lange
Rachel's work focuses on understanding the transmission ecology of emerging tick-borne viruses in New York: Powassan, Heartland, and Bourbon viruses. This work includes using classic virology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to track the introduction, establishment and spread of these viruses across endemic and non-endemic regions in the Northeast. Additionally, she investigates the role of alternative tick vectors and mammalian reservoirs in ecological maintenance and drivers of viral adaptation of Powassan virus.
Hannah Theriault
Hannah's work is focused on studying the ecology of Powassan virus lineage II, also known as Deer Tick Virus (DTV). DTV has a highly focal distribution which has resulted in two geographically separated clades. Hannah's work aims to characterize the genetic and phenotypic consequences of this isolation, as well as to identify environmental variables that impact virus distribution and expansion in New York State.
Laura Munn
Laura studies how climate influences the transmission dynamics of West Nile virus (WNV) in Culex species mosquitoes. Her work integrates virology and molecular biology-based approaches to evaluate how temperature and humidity shape both vectorial capacity and viral evolution. She is particularly interested in how environmental variables affect mosquito-virus interactions and contribute to geographic and temporal patterns of WNV transmission.