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Modelling the effects of climate and climate change on transmission of vector-borne disease

LIPPI – Modelling the effects of climate and climate change on transmission of vector-borne disease Marta S. Shocket, Jamie M. Caldwell, Paul J. Huxley, Catherine A. Lippi, Francis A. Windram, and Alexander C. Keyel Article first published online: 13 December 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789004688650_012 ABSTRACT: Mathematical and statistical models are critical tools for both understanding how […]

Mapping Thermal Physiology of Vector-Borne Diseases in a Changing Climate: Shifts in Geographic and Demographic Risk of Suitability

RYAN – Mapping Thermal Physiology of Vector-Borne Diseases in a Changing Climate: Shifts in Geographic and Demographic Risk of Suitability Sadie J. Ryan Article first published online: 09 SEPT 2020 Current Environmental Health Reports (2020) DOI: 10.1007/s40572-020-00290-5 Purpose of Review To describe a collection of recent work published on thermal suitability for vector-borne diseases, in […]

Summarizing the Research and Knowledge Gaps for Mosquito-borne Arboviruses in Ecuador

GAINESVILLE, FL – Researchers and clinicians in Ecuador face a challenging environment: this biodiverse country is home to many disease hosts and vectors. Particularly, the mosquitoes in Ecuador carry and transmit arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses). This group includes diseases like dengue, chikungunya, Mayaro virus, yellow fever, and Zika, among others. All are spread by overlapping mosquito species. […]

Age influences the thermal suitability of Plasmodium falciparum transmission in the Asian malaria vector Anopheles stephensi

RYAN – Age influences the thermal suitability of Plasmodium falciparum transmission in the Asian malaria vector Anopheles stephensi K. L. Miazgowicz, M. S. Shocket, S. J. Ryan, O. C. Villena, R. J. Hall, J. Owen, T. Adanlawo, K. Balaji, L. R. Johnson, E. A. Mordecai, and C. C. Murdock Article first published online: 22 JUL […]

Meet the Geographer: Cat Lippi

Cat Lippi Pronouns: she/her Quantitative Disease Ecology & Conservation Lab Emerging Pathogens Institute CDC Southeastern Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases Graduate Representative 2019/2020 University of Florida Adviser: Dr. Sadie Ryan Focus Area: Medical Geography in Global Health (MGGH) Research Statement: I am broadly interested in vector-borne diseases, public health vector control, and investigating the […]

Meet the Geographer: Stephanie Mundis

  Stephanie Mundis Pronouns: she/her Quantitative Disease Ecology & Conservation Lab Emerging Pathogens Institute CDC Southeastern Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases Graduate Representative 2019/2020 University of Florida Adviser: Dr. Sadie Ryan Focus Area: Medical Geography in Global Health (MGGH) Research Statement: My research interests are in the application of GIS to understand vector-borne […]

Needed: A National Tick Strategy

We need a national tick strategy, UF Medical Geography researcher Dr. Claudia Ganser argued in a recent paper. “Historically in the U.S., public health has focused more on mosquitoes versus ticks,” Ganser says. “A lot of the public health infrastructure of surveillance programs that is already in place focuses on mosquitoes rather than ticks,” Ganser says. […]

Flying Under the Radar

GAINESVILLE, FL – University of Florida Associate Professor of Medical Geography Dr. Sadie Ryan (Emerging Pathogens Institute, Quantitative Disease Ecology & Conservation Lab) spoke with WUFT News about vector-borne disease in the time of coronavirus in Flying Under the Radar. “It’s not like mosquitoes went on hold because of COVID,” she said. “The message needs to stay alive.” […]

Spatial variation in the frequency of knockdown resistance genotypes in Florida Aedes aegypti populations

MUNDIS, RYAN – Spatial variation in the frequency of knockdown resistance genotypes in Florida Aedes aegypti populations Stephanie J. Mundis, Alden S. Estep, Christy M. Waits, & Sadie J. Ryan Article first published online: 11 MAY 2020 Parasites & Vectors DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04112-3 ABSTRACT: Background The development of insecticide resistance in disease-vectoring mosquito species can lead […]

A network analysis framework to improve the delivery of mosquito abatement services in Machala, Ecuador

BLACKBURN, LIPPI, MAO, RYAN – A network analysis framework to improve the delivery of mosquito abatement services in Machala, Ecuador Catherine A. Lippi, Liang Mao, Anna M. Stewart-Ibarra, Naveed Heydari, Efraín Beltrán Ayala, Nathan D. Burkett-Cadena, Jason K. Blackburn & Sadie J. Ryan Article first published online: 11 FEB 2020 International Journal of Health Geographics […]

Geography Colloquium: Decisions will be made – modeling vector borne disease at multiple scales for different purposes and use

Speaker: Dr. Sadie Ryan Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of Florida Thursday, January 16, 2020 2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8) Turlington Hall Room 3018 University of Florida All are welcome to attend. Forecasting the impacts of climate change on vector-borne diseases (VBDs)—especially those under current public scrutiny and concern, such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and […]

Announcing The Navi-Gator, Issue 3!

University of Florida Department of Geography The Navi-Gator January 2020, ISSUE 3 (Download PDF) Evening of excellence John & Fawn Dunkle Award for Graduate Student Travel: Ryan Good & Guoqian Yan David L. Niddrie Excellence Fund: Tierney Shimansky & Shreejana Bhattarai Little Family Student Fellowship Award: Caroline Parks Ryan Poehling Award for Top Graduate Student: […]

Insecticide Resistance Threatens the Control of Mosquito-Borne Disease in Ecuador

GAINESVILLE – In the battle against vector borne disease, mosquito control using insecticides is an essential tool. But what happens when that tool starts to fail, and how do you know it? Insecticides are regularly used by public health agencies to reduce populations of blood-sucking mosquitoes. Effective control programs are important to public health because, […]

Temperature explains broad patterns of Ross River virus transmission

RYAN – Temperature explains broad patterns of Ross River virus transmission Marta Strecker Shocket, Sadie J Ryan, Erin A Mordecai Article first published online: 28 AUG 2018 eLife DOI: 10.7554/eLife.37762.001 ABSTRACT: Thermal biology predicts that vector-borne disease transmission peaks at intermediate temperatures and declines at high and low temperatures. However, thermal optima and limits remain […]

Temperature model predicts regional and seasonal virus transmission by mosquitoes

GAINESVILLE, FL – New model that accurately predicts patterns of mosquito-borne Ross River virus epidemics could help prepare for the impact of climate change. Scientists have built a model that predicts how temperature affects the spread of Ross River virus, a common mosquito-borne virus in Australia, according to a report in the journal eLife. The […]

Temperature drives Zika virus transmission: evidence from empirical and mathematical models

RYAN – Temperature drives Zika virus transmission: evidence from empirical and mathematical models Blanka Tesla, Leah R. Demakovsky, Erin A. Mordecai, Sadie J. Ryan, Matthew H. Bonds, Calistus N. Ngonghala, Melinda A. Brindley, Courtney C. Murdock Article first published online: 15 AUG 2018 Proceedings of the Royal Society B DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0795 ABSTRACT: Temperature is a […]

UF Researchers Refine Zika Transmission Models

GAINESVILLE, FL – A University of Florida Medical Geography researcher recently participated in a study that found that current estimates of Zika virus transmission vastly over predict its possible range. Temperature is a major driver of vector-borne disease transmission, but current transmission models rely on untested assumptions about life history of Zika infected Aedes aegypti […]

Geography Colloquium: Mathematical models and the fundamental thermal niche of huanglongbing, a vector-borne pathogen of citrus trees

Mathematical models and the fundamental thermal niche of huanglongbing, a vector-borne pathogen of citrus trees Speaker: Dr. Leah R. Johnson Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, Virginia Tech Thursday, February 15, 2018 3:00-3:50 PM (Period 8) Turlington Hall Room 3012 University of Florida All are welcome to attend.

MedGeo Faculty to Lead New CDC Center For Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease

GAINESVILLE – With a $10 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Florida will lead a highly collaborative research program focused on stopping vector-borne diseases such as Zika before they spread farther into the United States. Key leadership for the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease will […]

Farewell to summer MedGeo researcher

This summer, Geography’s Ryan Lab and the Emerging Pathogens Institute were proud to host Lauren Fregosi as a summer research intern working on Dr. Sadie Ryan‘s National Science Foundation’s Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (NSF EEID) grant. The internship, which was offered through the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, was focused on modelling approaches […]

NSF funding UF research on Zika virus

GAINESVILLE, Florida — Dr. Sadie Ryan (Assistant Professor of Medical Geography in the Department of Geography and UF’s Emerging Pathogen Institute) and colleagues, have just received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Environmental Biology’s Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) Program rapid response, or RAPID grant to study the socio-ecology and climate responses of Zika virus transmission […]

How does a mosquito in Ecuador affect people around the world?

Geography’s Dr. Sadie Ryan‘s NSF funded research in Ecuador was recently profiled for part of UF’s GatorGood initiative. Dr. Ryan’s work is focused on the impact of climate gradients on malaria, dengue fever, and cholera in Ecuador. Find out more about the far-reaching effects if  Dr. Ryan’s work and learn how you can help contribute to the […]

How Mosquitoes Die Matters for Malaria Control

GAINESVILLE, Florida –A new study out of the University of Florida calls for caution in estimating the impact of mosquito control on malaria and other vector-borne disease transmission. Public health officials make prevention and treatment decisions based on models of the impact of interventions. For vector-borne diseases like malaria, these models are based on mosquito […]

Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance of Rodents and Vectors for Francisella tularensis Following Outbreaks of Human Tularemia in Georgia

KRACALIK, BLACKBURN – Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance of Rodents and Vectors for Francisella tularensis Following Outbreaks of Human Tularemia in Georgia Elashvili Eka, Kracalik Ian, Burjanadze Irma, Datukishvili Sophio, Chanturia Gvantsa, Tsertsvadze Nikoloz, Beridze Levan, Shavishvili Merab, Dzneladze Archil, Grdzelidze Marina, Imnadze Paata, Pearson Andrew, and Blackburn Jason K Article first published online: 30 September 2015 Vector-Borne […]