Research
My love for epidemiological research stemmed from my experiences studying biology in college. I took a parasitology course from the amazing Dr. Darrin Good at Augustana College, and I was hooked. I believe research should be used to inform the implementation of real change. I am most drawn to areas of vector-borne disease prevention.
Current Projects
Previous Projects
I am a member of the Ernst Lab at the University of Arizona, working on projects related to bednet use in Kenya.
Bednets are important tools for malaria prevention. Governments and NGOs work hard to provide long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets to those in malaria endemic regions. These nets are meant to last at least 3 years, but they often do not last this long in the field. As part of my dissertation, I am working on 3 projects related to bednet care and use:
1. Bednet Care and Repair
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An assessment of bednet care practices in western Kenya. A major part of this project is the development of a new 'bednet care adherence score' to assess how well care of bednets meets the current care recommendations
2. Misuse vs. Re-use
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There are reports of bednet 'misuse' in the literature and media. I'm examining the hypothesis that this 'misuse' is actually re-purposing of old, worn out nets rather than improper use of intact nets.
3. A systematic review of malaria education interventions for improving optimal bednet use practices.
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Chagas Disease:
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I served as an intern at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán in Mérida, Mexico. I helped with field work collecting dog blood samples in rural communities, and completed lab work to measure whether these dogs were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi
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A comparison of officially reported Chagas disease cases and estimates from the literature in Mexico
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You can find our publication here
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Chikungunya in Dominica
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I worked with a field team from Yale to map the household locations of the first 500 cases of the 2014 Chikungunya epidemic in Dominica
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You can find our publication here
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