Grad Student Spotlight
Antonio Alvarado
Research Interest: My undergraduate studies largely focused on how human behavior and cultural differences affect infectious disease transmission, illuminating how anthropology can explain the context for certain health behaviors. It wasn’t until interning at the NYC Department of Health, while studying how Culex pipiens mosquitoes evolved to inhabit in specific NYC sewers, that I discovered the complex connection between vector-borne diseases, insect vectors, and human behavior. I am now pursuing an MS in Vector-Borne Disease Biology and working in the Harrington Lab to understand the ecology of disease vectors. I am interested in how humans shape pathogen behavior/evolution and how our behavior has contributed to the rise of emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases like Zika virus, Dengue virus, or even bubonic plague.
Julie Davis
Research Interests: “I am interested in the ecology and sustainable management of pollinators and herbivorous insects in agroecosystems. In graduate school, I plan to study how plants manage multiple mutualists and antagonists under variable biotic and abiotic conditions. It is my goal to communicate my research through Cornell Cooperative Extension and other public outreach avenues.”