Current Projects:
Tracking Tails – An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Cultural and Environmental Factors in Canine Disease Transmission and Control
Research interests:
Grounded in my veterinary background and shaped by international fieldwork, I have worked in diverse settings—from providing medical care to gorillas in Cameroon to observing the behavior of wild chimpanzees in Uganda. These experiences initially reinforced my focus on animal behavior and welfare. However, my perspective began to broaden when a woman living in a slum near a wildlife rehabilitation center asked why I was helping animals but not the people around them. Her question stayed with me, prompting me to consider how I could use my profession to help both people and animals. This moment sparked my interest in One Health and Veterinary Public Health.
I am passionate about zoonotic disease ecology and the application of biostatistics and field-based research to improve surveillance and conservation strategies in developing countries. My work so far has combined behavioral data collection, pathogen screening in the laboratory, and statistical analysis. I am eager to continue contributing to applied, impactful research that benefits both animals and people.
For my PhD, I am working exactly at the intersection of my interests and expertise—collecting animal and human behavior and health data in the Global South to identify patterns of increased disease occurrence and transmission. Using laboratory work, movement data, and developing mitigation strategies, I aim to improve the livelihoods of both animals and humans.
- Animal behavior
- Animal welfare
- Species protection
- Wildlife Conservation
- One Health
- Veterinary Public Health
- International Collaboration
- Epidemiology
- Zoonotic diseases
- Neglected Tropical Diseases
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
