My research program (PDF) focuses on the biology of avian blood parasites. The work encompasses many aspects of biology including molecular parasitology, ecology, evolution, and conservation genetics. In collaboration with researchers at the Center for Tropical Research at UCLA, JPL/NASA,  and the Institute of Ecology at Vilnius University, Lithuania, I study the effects of deforestation on the spread of infectious diseases in African rainforest birds. Since 1990, a unique set of blood samples has been collected from over 200 rainforest bird species in a variety of habitats across Cameroon, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Uganda. Significantly, the samples were collected from sites both before and after habitat degradation, permitting a unique examination into the direct effects of human induced habitat alterations. Using complementary techniques of blood smear analysis, and molecular biology, samples are assayed for the pathogens that cause malaria, trypanosomiasis, filiariasis and viruses. These diseases in birds have very similar pathologies to their human counterparts, making the study of birds an excellent model system. In addition, we use satellite imagery data to predict how changes in forest composition may affect the spread of diseases in the future.

More recently, I have initiated projects studying infectious diseases in California birds of prey.  Through collaborations with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, and the UC Davis Raptor Center I am studying the interrelationships among the blood parasites of hawks, with the intention to discern how disease can affect the migratory patterns of birds.