Bio

I am an evolutionary biologist and anthropologist studying the ecology and evolutionary biology of host immunity and infectious diseases in humans and wild non-human apes, including chimpanzees from Kibale National Park, Uganda, and Gombe National Park, Tanzania. My research addresses three different facets of host immunity and the host-pathogen relationship, including: 1) tradeoffs between reproduction and immunity in wild female and male chimpanzees, 2) the relationship between primate host (human and chimpanzee) immunity and immunogenetics and viral and parasitic infection, and 3) within and between host viral genomics and evolution in primate hosts. I use a variety of biomarkers, including host immune system genes, whole genomes, pathogens (viruses & bacteria) and parasites (protozoans & helminths), reproductive and stress-related hormones, and microbiome, in concert with long-term environmental, social, and demographic data to address hypotheses related to host immunity and the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases.

My toolbox includes a combination of field (sample collection, observational data, host demographic data, and environmental data), laboratory (host genetics and immunogenetics, molecular epidemiology, including viral genetics and genomics, parasite microscopy, experimental infection studies, and radio/enzyme immunoassays), and computational biology methods (bioinformatics, computer programming, phylogenetics, ecological statistics, and ecological and epidemiological modeling) to address evolutionary hypotheses about hosts and pathogens.

Additionally, I have a strong background in human evolutionary genetics with a focus on processes that have shaped neutral genetic variation in extant human populations across the globe, and host-pathogen/parasite coevolution with emphasis on molecular phylogenetics and the evolution of host susceptibility & resistance to pathogen and parasite infection.

My current and past research endeavors have been generously supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Leakey Foundation, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.