Welcome to the Wildlife Pathogens Lab
Becoming an Honors Undergraduate Researcher at the UVM Wildlife Pathogens Lab.
Welcome to the Wildlife Pathogens Lab
The Lab’s Mission Statement
The Wildlife Pathogens Lab, led by Dr. Ellen Martinsen, is dedicated to the exploration and understanding of wildlife pathogens and their impact on ecosystems. Through a multidisciplinary approach that combines fieldwork and laboratory research, its members engage in pathogen discovery, shedding light on novel species and genera in wild vertebrate and invertebrate vector hosts worldwide.
A picture of the Wildlife Pathogens Lab.
Their mission involves unravelling the intricacies of pathogen diversity, tracking their evolutionary history, and investigating host switches into new vertebrate and invertebrate vector hosts. Additionally, they are committed to studying specific cases, such as Common Loon Malaria, contaminant-pathogen interactions, cervid pathogens, and the impact of invasive tick species on infectious diseases.
The Wildlife Pathogen Lab aims to contribute valuable insights into the dynamic relationship between wildlife, pathogens, and their changing environments.
Meet the Team
The Wildlife Pathogen’s Lab Team is composed of:
| Member | Education Levels | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Ellen Martinsen | Ph.D. | Host-parasite ecology and evolution, wildlife disease, avian biology, and conservation. |
| Erika Griggs | Ph.D. Student | Impact of environmental contaminants and climate change on infection dynamics in birds. |
| Lauren Berkley | MS Student | Understand disease-related and climate change threats to vulnerable species. |
| Joe Webb | Honors Undergraduate | Modeling disease pathogen prevalence in tick populations as a variable to climate change. |
| Olivia Biasetti | Undergraduate | Environmental variables and infection levels of anaplasmosis in reservoir hosts. |
| Anna Hinkel | Undergraduate | Investigating reservoir hosts of a variety of tick-borne pathogens. |
My Goals in Lab
As an Honors Undergraduate Researcher at the University of Vermont Honors College, I have devoted the last year of my undergraduate education to the research of tick pathogen prevalence. My tentative goals over the 2023-2024 academic year are as follows:
- Analyze New England Forest Temperature & Precipitation to PCA Linear Regressions
- Systematically Collect ~500 Black-Legged Ticks from Targetted Sites at Quarterile Ranges.
- Extract and Perform PCR Analysis on All Samples
- Measure Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia microti, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum at Sites.
- Create Yearly Model That Relates Pathogen Prevalence to Climate Change Predictions.
PCR Extractions will be stored in the University of Vermont collection of biological research for future research.
Read the Most Recent Lab News
Interested to see what else we are up to? The official lab website can be found here.
Definitions
- Reservoir Hosts
- Organisms that serve as natural carriers of a pathogen, often without showing symptoms of the disease, and can transmit it to other species.
- Pathogen Prevalence
- Refers to the proportion or frequency of a specific pathogen within a population or environment at a given time, indicating the extent of its occurrence.
