Dengue, which was first reported as a travel case in Nepal in 2004, was initially confined to the lower plains but has spread to higher elevations. Large outbreaks in 2022 and 2023, reached every district. We calculated the district-wise incidence for 2022 and 2023 by digitizing case data from Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population […]
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Temperature shapes the geographic distribution, seasonality, and magnitude of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks. Models predicting transmission often use mosquito and pathogen thermal responses measured at constant temperatures. However, mosquitoes live in fluctuating temperatures. Rate summation––non-linear averaging of trait values measured at constant temperatures—is commonly used to infer performance in fluctuating environments, but its accuracy is rarely […]
Arboviruses transmitted mainly by Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Ae. albopictus, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses, and yellow fever virus in urban settings, pose an escalating global threat. Existing risk maps, often hampered by surveillance biases, may underestimate or misrepresent the true distribution of these diseases and do not incorporate epidemiological similarities despite shared vector species. We address this by […]
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Global risk maps are an important tool for assessing the global threat of mosquito and tick-transmitted arboviral diseases. Public health officials increasingly rely on risk maps to understand the drivers of transmission, forecast spread, identify gaps in surveillance, estimate disease burden, and target and evaluate the impact of interventions. This paper describes how current approaches […]
Poisot, T., Becker, D. J., Brookson, C. B., Graeden, E., Ryan, S. J., Turon, G., & Carlson, C. (2025). Ten quick tips to build a Model Life Cycle. PLOS Computational Biology, 21(2), e1012731. ABSTRACT: This paper introduces the Model Life Cycle for biological data-driven research and develops a series of 10 quick tips aimed at facilitating collaborations […]
Borbor-Cordova, M., Ryan, S., Lowe, R., von Borries, R., & Stewart Ibarra, A. (2024). A Holistic Systems Approach to Global Health Research, Practice, and Partnerships. In Transforming Global Health Partnerships (pp. 51-65). Cham: Springer. ABSTRACT: Emerging and persistent infectious diseases are global threats that have evidenced the interconnectedness and interdependence of the environment, animal, and human systems. […]
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Villena, O. C., Arab, A., Lippi, C. A., Ryan, S. J., & Johnson, L. R. (2024). Influence of environmental, geographic, socio-demographic, and epidemiological factors on presence of malaria at the community level in two continents. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 16734. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67452-5 Article first published online: 20 July 2024 in Scientific Reports ABSTRACT: The interactions of environmental, geographic, […]
UF Geography was well represented at this year’s Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI) Research Day. Simrik Bhandari, a first year Masters student working in the Quantitative Disease Ecology and Conservation (QDEC) lab, presented a poster on the spatial patterns of dengue incidence in Nepal. Gavriella Hecht, a second-year PhD student in the Quantitative Disease Ecology […]
Dr. Sadie Ryan Associate Professor Department of Geography University of Florida Thursday, February 8, 2024 3:00-3:50 PM (Period 8) Recorded for YouTube Turlington Hall 3018 and Zoom University of Florida Abstract: From restoration of vernal pool habitat, to the struggle for oil in a biodiversity hotspot, to measuring nutritional limits to herbivores in an iconic […]
Read more "Tales from local scales: life on the landscape after conservation decisions"
LIPPI, MUNDIS, SIPPY, FLENNIKEN, CHAUDHARY, HECHT, RYAN – Trends in mosquito species distribution modeling: insights for vector surveillance and disease control Catherine Lippi, Stephanie Mundis, Rachel Sippy, Matthew Flenniken, Anusha Chaudhary, Gavriella Hecht, Colin Carlson, Sadie Ryan Article first published online: 28 August 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-023-05912-z ABSTRACT: Species distribution modeling (SDM) has become an increasingly common […]