​Our research examines how variation among individuals generates predictable patterns in disease dynamics across biological scales. We focus on the mechanisms linking host traits, environmental conditions, and pathogen performance, with the goal of developing general frameworks for understanding and predicting disease under global change.

Behavioral disease ecology

Behavior is a primary mechanism through which organisms interact with pathogens and respond to environmental change. We study how variation in behaviors such as thermoregulation, foraging, and parental care influences infection risk, disease severity, and transmission. Our work shows that:

• Individual behavioral differences can strongly structure susceptibility within populations
• Behavioral strategies can either mitigate or exacerbate disease outcomes
• Variation in behavior can scale up to shape epidemic dynamics

This research integrates controlled experiments with field observations to link behavior directly to epidemiological processes.
Collaborators: Dr. Sarah DuRant, Dr. Mitchell Serota, Dr. Anthony Waddle

Eastern newts

Tree swallow

Trans-generational and developmental effects

Variation in disease outcomes is not determined solely by current conditions but is shaped by prior environments and parental effects. We study how early-life conditions and parental traits influence immune function, susceptibility, and transmission potential. Key findings include:

• Parental behavior can alter offspring disease outcomes independent of physiological transfer
• Early-life environments shape immune phenotypes and later susceptibility
• Cross-generational effects can influence epidemic dynamics by structuring population susceptibility

This work links organismal biology with population-level consequences of disease.
Collaborators: Dr. Sarah DuRant, Dr. Jessica Hite, Dr. Ryan Paitz, Dr. Ashley Love

Environmental change and disease dynamics

Environmental conditions fundamentally alter host–pathogen interactions. We investigate how climate variability, emerging pathogens, anthropogenic food sources, and other types of anthropogenic change influence disease risk across systems.
A major focus is developing and testing general frameworks that link host and pathogen performance across environmental gradients. Our work highlights that:

• Disease risk often depends on mismatches between host and pathogen performance
• Temperature variability, not just mean conditions, is a critical driver of outcomes
• Environmental context determines when and where disease emerges

We address these questions using experiments, meta-analysis, and large-scale datasets spanning multiple species and regions.
Collaborators: Dr. Jeremy Cohen, Dr. Sarah DuRant, Dr. Jessica Hite, Dr. Jason Rohr, Dr. Carson Stacy, Dr. Jeffery Lewis
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Northern leopard frog

Gray treefrog

Linking mechanisms to predicitons

A central goal of the lab is to move from description to prediction. By integrating behavior, physiology, and environmental variation, we aim to identify generalizable principles that explain when and where disease risk will be highest. Our approach combines laboratory and field experiments, long-term and large-scale datasets, and quantitative and comparative analyses.
​This integration allows us to connect mechanisms operating at the individual level with patterns observed across populations, species, and ecosystems.
Collaborators: Dr. Tara Stewart Merrill, Dr. Jennifer Koop