Chair and University Term Professor
Professor
Principal Investigator, Emerging Pathogens Institute
Director, Spatial Epidemiology & Ecology Research Laboratory (SEER Lab)(opens in new tab)
Twitter: @JasonKBlackburn(opens in new tab)
Focus Areas
Areas of Specialization
- Zoonotic diseases (those that affect animals and humans)
- Wildlife diseases
- Disease transmission pathways & spillover between species
- Ecological niche modeling
- Spatio-temporal modeling for epidemiology
- Animal movement modeling and resource selection
- Disease ecology
- Anthrax transmission dynamics
Educational Background
- PhD in Medical Geography (Minor: Pathobiology), Louisiana State University, 2006
- M.S. in Medical Geography, Louisiana State University, 2003
- B.S. in Physical Geography, Louisiana State University, 2001
Recent Courses
- GIS4424C/GIS6456C: Applications in GIS for Disease Ecology & Zoonoses Currently offered as an online course in fall
- GEO6938: Opensource with QGIS This is a new course that will focus on the freely available, opensource Q-GIS desktop application.
Current Graduate Students
Master’s
Recent Graduate Students
Master’s
- Morgan Walker, 2019
PhD
- Dr. Emily Dinh (2019)
- Dr. Anni Yang (2019)
In My Own Words
I am a professor of medical geography and a principal investigator in the Emerging Pathogens Institute(opens in new tab) and the director of the Spatial Epidemiology and Ecology Research Laboratory (SEER Lab)(opens in new tab), which is jointly housed in Geography and the EPI. My research interests focus on the ecology and spatio-temporal patterns of zoonotic diseases, those that impact animals and humans.
Primarily my laboratory is concentrated on bacterial pathogens, such as anthrax, brucellosis, plague, and tularemia. We employ ecological niche modeling, spatio-temporal clustering techniques, and ecological modeling to historical and field-collected empirical data related to disease outbreaks and pathogen distributions.
Specifically we work on select agent studies in the former Soviet Republics of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, as well as Botswana, and the American West. I also work with colleagues from the UF Vet School on projects in St. Kitts and Nevis and the island nation of Dominica.
The SEER Lab is currently funded by CRDF Global, the Department of Energy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (through MIDAS and NIEHS funding), and the USDA.
In addition my lab’s work on zoonotic diseases, I also have research interests and continue to publish on shark biology and ecology, marine mammal biology, and large predatory cats (cougars and ocelots) in Texas. My teaching philosophy is to directly engage students in research and the scientific writing process in the classroom and in the field.
My graduate students gain direct research experience through involvement in domestic and international projects and co-publication of their graduate research. My course material is updated each year with new literature, new GIS practical labs, and new techniques being applied in Medical Geography, Spatial Epidemiology, Geospatial Science, and Disease Ecology.
Recent Publications
Safaei, M., Southworth, J., Gibbes, C., Herrero, H. V., Rahaman, M., Tefera, B. B., & Blackburn, J. K. (2025). Land-cover classification in Addo Elephant National Park: Analyzing the impact of variables, classifiers, and object-based approach. Ecological Informatics, 103279.
Rodriguez, J. A., Joseph, C., Gupte, A. A., Ritter, A. S., Goel, R., Panna, M., … & Beatty, N. L. (2025). Brucella suis Infection in Cardiac Implantable Device of Man Exposed to Feral Swine Meat, Florida, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 31(4), 795.
Li, X., Chen, D., Liang, S., Hassen, J. Y., McKune, S. L., Havelaar, A. H., & Blackburn, J. K. (2024). Geospatial Analysis of Multilevel Socioenvironmental Factors Impacting the Campylobacter Burden among Infants in Rural Eastern Ethiopia: A One Health Perspective. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 112(3), 506.
Jiranantasak, T., Bluhm, A. P., Chabot, D. J., Friedlander, A., Bowen, R., McMillan, I. A., … & Norris, M. H. (2024). Toxin and capsule production by Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis influence pathogenicity in macrophages and animal models. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 18(12), e0012779.
Luong, T., Nguyen, T. D., Lu, V. T., Metrailer, M. C., Pham, V. K., Hoang, T. T. H., … & Blackburn, J. K. (2024). Spatial epidemiology of human anthrax in Son La province, Vietnam, 2003–2022. Zoonoses and Public Health, 71(4), 392-401.