Andrew Dobson - Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Erik Osnas - Postdoctoral

Erik is interested in the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions, and specifically in the evolution and co-evolution of host and parasite traits and genetic systems. He is also interested in what causes spatial and temporal variation in the intensity of epidemics, and applying ecological and evolutionary theory to understand and potentially manage or control disease in wildlife and other populations. In the past, he has used field observations and lab experiments combined with simple models to study co-evolution in a New Zealand snail-trematode system. He has also used models and sophisticated statistical techniques to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of prions in Wisconsin deer (chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer). He is now working on epidemiology and evolution of a bacteria disease (Mycoplasma galicepticum) in house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus). The pathogen has recently invaded the finch population and spread across North America. Erik is modeling the evolution of virulence in the bacteria in response to seasonal, spatial, and community dynamics of the finch population.

Leslie Reperant - Graduate Student

Leslie, trained as a veterinarian in France, is completing her PhD on the disease ecology of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus, in collaboration with the Department of Virology of the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (co-supervisor Prof. Thijs Kuiken). She investigates the role of wild birds in the recent spread of the virus from South-East Asia to Europe and Africa, combining animal experimental work and the development of mathematical modelling. She is also interested in the pathogenesis of the virus in mammals, and its potential evolution into a pandemic strain transmissible from mammal to mammal.

Nitin Sekar - Graduate Student

Nitin is a first-year Ph.D. candidate currently working on a project examining how predators affect the disease ecology of their prey animals. His other interests in ecology include human-wildlife conflict and ecologically sustainable development.  Nitin performs his field work in India through a partnership with Dr. Raman Sukumar of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.