Nathan D. Burkett-Cadena is an Associate Professor at the University of Florida , affiliated with the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory under the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) . Academic Rank: Associate Professor University: University of Florida Department: Entomology and Nematology Department Research Interests focus on mosquito ecology , biology of disease vectors , and entomological disease transmission dynamics . Key areas include: Vector biology and host associations Arbovirus epidemiology Aquatic insect ecology Insect-plant interactions Publication Trends reveal expertise in: Mosquito taxonomy and morphology Vector-borne pathogen transmission Ecological entomology (mantises, damselflies) Integrated pest management strategies Notable Contributions include: Comprehensive studies on mosquito oviposition and larval respiration Analysis of vector flight distances and dispersal Documentation of mantis auditory structures and sexual dimorphism
Lukasz L. Stelinski is a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC). His work focuses on integrated pest management strategies for citrus systems, particularly targeting insect vectors of economically significant diseases. Research Themes Biological and chemical control of citrus pests Reducing pesticide impacts on non-target organisms like honey bees Mechanisms of virus-vector interactions Recent publications emphasize practical citrus production guides developed with multidisciplinary teams, covering pests such as Drosophila suzukii , Asian citrus psyllid, and root weevils. He also contributes to molecular studies on viral disease dynamics and vector biology. Collaborations include partnerships with researchers like Drs. Lauren Diepenbrock, Jawwad Qureshi, and Nian Wang, particularly in deploying Citrus tristeza virus-based platforms for Huanglongbing (HLB) mitigation.
Louis Valiquette is a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Université de Sherbrooke since 2005. He serves as the Dean of the Faculty (2025–2029) and is a practicing infectious disease specialist at the CIUSSSE de l’Estrie-CHUS . His academic training includes a medical degree from Université de Sherbrooke, a certificate in Internal Medicine and Medical Microbiology, and a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Toronto. Education: MD, Université de Sherbrooke Certificate in Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases MSc in Clinical Epidemiology, University of Toronto Research interests focus on infectious disease epidemiology , antimicrobial stewardship , and vaccine safety . He pioneered clinical decision support systems for antibiotic prescribing and investigated age-specific outcomes of respiratory infections. Leadership roles include directing the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (2016–2024), co-founding LUMED Inc. (acquired by bioMérieux in 2024), and leading PREVALIS, an institutional digital health research platform. His work has been adopted across 50+ healthcare centers in North America and Europe. Scientific contributions span 132 high-impact publications and active participation in national and international conferences. He emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, social responsibility, and evidence-based clinical practices.
Jessica Larsen is the Carol and John ’63 Cromer Family Endowed Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University. She holds a BS (2012) and PhD (2017) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and Auburn University, respectively. Research Focus: Polymeric biomaterials for blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration in neurotherapeutics Key Techniques: Enzyme-responsive polymersomes, gene editing delivery, disease-specific stimuli response Disease Targets: Parkinson’s disease, GM1 gangliosidosis, glioblastoma, peripheral nerve injuries Publications highlight advancements in CRISPR-Cas9 delivery MRI contrast agents RNA biology in neural repair Autophagy modulation BBB bypass strategies Awards include: Phil and Mary Bradley Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry 2021 Outstanding Faculty Woman at Clemson University NSF CAREER Award (2021) 2022 South Carolina Governor’s Young Scientist Award Advisees include PhD candidates E. Bagwell, M. Shin, N. Henkel, and D. Migliaccio, who contribute to her lab’s work on BBB-targeted therapies. Lab: The Larsen Lab (www.thelarsenlab.com) specializes in nanotherapeutic strategies for central nervous system disorders, with a focus on polymer-based delivery systems.
Scot Adams is a Professor in the School of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota, with research spanning pure mathematics and machine learning applications. His primary academic affiliation is with the Mathematics Department at the University of Minnesota, where he maintains an active research program while managing phased retirement paperwork. His research interests include dynamical systems, foliations, ergodic theory, hyperbolic groups, trees, Riemannian geometry, and more recently neural networks and thermodynamics. In his diary entries through August 2025, he documents ongoing work developing neural network slides, focusing on visual chain rule explanations, diagram of functions, and coordinate vector spaces. His recent publications reflect a transition toward machine learning applications while maintaining his foundational mathematics work. The 15 most recent articles show increasing focus on neural network theory (2025), with earlier works covering financial mathematics, climate policy presentations, and pure mathematics topics like Banach-Tarski paradox and central limit theorem. As an advisor, he works with graduate student Aarya Garimella on neural network research, meeting regularly to refine slides and explore mathematical foundations of neural networks. His teaching activities include courses in linear algebra and financial mathematics. His diary reveals active engagement with climate policy through Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL), including Capitol Hill lobbying efforts and local climate forum organization. He maintains detailed records of academic and civic activities while managing household responsibilities.
Eleftheria Kostika of Bank of Greece and Nikiforos T. Laopodis of Roger Williams University are active finance researchers specializing in cryptocurrency dynamics and global financial market interconnections. Both hold faculty positions within the School of Business, Department of Finance. Their research focuses on cryptocurrency market behavior , exchange rate interactions , and equity market linkages using advanced econometric techniques including VAR models and DCC-GARCH specifications. Their work demonstrates that cryptocurrencies operate independently from traditional financial assets, making them valuable portfolio diversification tools. Analysis of their publications reveals consistent expertise in Financial time-series modeling Global market integration studies Monetary policy effectiveness evaluation particularly regarding cryptocurrency volatility and central bank liquidity mechanisms. Scientific contributions include: First empirical study on cryptocurrency-exchange rate-equity market tridirectional linkages Pioneering analysis of ELA tool effectiveness during eurozone crises Both researchers maintain active publication records with significant citation impact, demonstrating ongoing contributions to financial econometrics and cryptocurrency research without indication of student supervision or grant funding in the provided materials.
Jennifer Head, PhD, MPH, serves as the John G. Searle Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She teaches EPID601: Principles and Methods of Epidemiology (residential) and EPID674: Epidemiologic Data Analysis Using R (online). Her research focuses on climate-sensitive infectious diseases, particularly fungal pathogens like Coccidioides, Histoplasma, and Blastomyces. Education: PhD in Epidemiology (University of California, Berkeley, 2022), MPH in Global Environmental Health (Emory, 2016), BS in Chemical Engineering (Washington University in St. Louis, 2013) Research Themes: Climate variability impacts on pathogen distribution, environmental disturbance effects on human exposure, host-pathogen interactions in changing ecosystems Her work combines mathematical/statistical modeling with field research, including drone-based air sampling and longitudinal soil surveillance. Current projects include NIH-funded studies on population immunity estimation and climate-disease forecasting. She collaborates with federal agencies like CDC and EPA on actionable public health outcomes. Scientific Awards: NIH K01 grant, NIH F31 grant, R01 collaboration funding Students: Advises multiple MPH and PhD students in epidemiology and environmental health sciences She leads the Climate-Sensitive Infections Research Group , which has been featured in Science News , The Washington Post , and National Geographic . Recent media appearances include JAMA Network Open podcast and KNX Radio climate-disease interviews.
Claire Boone is an Assistant Professor at McGill University with a joint appointment between the Department of Economics and the Department of Equity, Ethics, and Policy in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. She also serves as an Associate Investigator at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), specifically within the Cardiovascular Health Across the Lifespan Program. Her work bridges health economics, policy analysis, and clinical decision-making to improve healthcare delivery systems. Dr. Boone earned her PhD in Health Policy and Health Economics from UC Berkeley and holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. Prior to joining McGill, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Center for Applied AI and worked as a research scientist in the Health Research Accelerator group at Providence. Dr. Boone's research focuses on understanding how clinicians make decisions and how to improve health care delivery through rigorous economic analysis. As a health economist, she studies the real-world impacts of healthcare delivery using big data and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate policies like financial incentives for doctors or new tools like AI decision support. Her work often examines how reminders, nudges, and system changes can improve preventive care and chronic disease management. She has conducted research in diverse settings including Chile, Kenya, and the United States, addressing questions of health equity, access to care, and the impact of early-life nutrition on long-term health outcomes. Her research spans multiple methodological approaches and addresses critical healthcare questions including clinical decision-making discretion, value-based payment models, AI adoption in healthcare, and the long-term health impacts of early-life nutritional exposures. Her findings on sugar rationing in early life and its protective effects against chronic disease received particularly widespread attention in both academic and media circles. Dr. Boone has secured significant research funding to support her work on healthcare delivery systems, behavioral interventions, and health policy evaluation. Her research often involves large-scale natural experiments and randomized field trials to generate evidence that can inform health system improvements across different healthcare settings and populations. While specific details about her laboratory or research team are not provided in the available information, her collaborative work suggests she leads or participates in multidisciplinary research teams involving economists, clinicians, epidemiologists, and data scientists to tackle complex questions in healthcare delivery and policy.
Dr Simon Goodman is a Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology at the School of Biology, University of Leeds. His research spans population genetics, disease ecology, and conservation biology, focusing on marine mammals, emerging infectious diseases, and parasite-vector dynamics. He has led international projects on Caspian seal conservation, Galápagos biosecurity, and turtle dove declines, resulting in policy changes and the 2015 University of Leeds Vice-Chancellors Award for Research Impact. PhD in Genetics (University of Cambridge, 1996) BSc in Genetics (University of Sheffield, 1991) His work integrates theoretical and empirical approaches, including satellite telemetry for marine mammal tracking, comparative genomics for disease resistance, and environmental DNA for biodiversity monitoring. He emphasizes capacity building in developing countries and addresses human-wildlife conflicts like illegal fisheries and climate change impacts. Scientific awards: 2015 University of Leeds Vice-Chancellors Award for Research Impact Key collaborations include the IUCN Pinniped Specialist Group and the UK Cetacean eDNA network. His lab trains global researchers in evolutionary genomics, conservation disease ecology, and biosensor technologies.
Daniel Leung is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Utah . He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and an M.D. from Wake Forest University School of Medicine . His research focuses on Mucosal-Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells in infections like cholera , sepsis , and diarrheal diseases , with emphasis on their immune regulatory roles and vaccine implications. Education: B.Sc., University of British Columbia M.Sc., University of British Columbia M.D., Wake Forest University School of Medicine Leung's work examines how MAIT cells contribute to B cell help , antibody production , and mucosal immunity . His team investigates these cells in human tonsil germinal centers and mouse models , particularly in cholera vaccine development using MAIT-activating ligands . Recent publications highlight his efforts in serosurveillance for cholera and SARS-CoV-2 , integrating statistical and machine learning approaches to estimate disease incidence from cross-sectional data. He also develops electronic clinical decision support tools (eCDST) for diarrhea management in low- and high-resource settings , aiming to reduce antibiotic misuse and improve patient outcomes. Key collaborations include the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) , GHESKIO (Haiti) , and institutions like Johns Hopkins and University of Florida . His research is funded by NIH (R01AI130378, R01AI135114, R01AI135115) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1198876).
Dr. Janine Seetahal serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor and Section Head of the Rabies Laboratory at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (KSVDL), part of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. With a D.V.M. (2006), M.P.H. (2011), and Ph.D. (2021) from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad & Tobago, she brings extensive expertise in rabies diagnostics and epidemiology to her position. Dr. Seetahal oversees one of the world's highest-volume rabies serology centers at KSVDL, handling both human and animal samples from clients worldwide. Her research focuses on rabies and bat-associated pathogens, with particular interest in the ecology and epidemiology of bat rabies and factors facilitating cross-species spillover events. She is deeply committed to the One Health approach, bridging human, animal, and environmental health domains to address global health challenges through evidence-based prevention and control strategies for zoonotic diseases. Her publication record demonstrates significant contributions to understanding rabies epidemiology, particularly in the Caribbean region. Analysis of her recent work shows consistent focus on rabies diagnostics, viral evolution, bat ecology, and cross-species transmission across the Caribbean islands and Latin America. Her research often integrates phylogeography, population genetics, and serological testing to develop comprehensive understanding of rabies transmission dynamics. Dr. Seetahal's leadership extends to developing novel laboratory assays that support rabies prevention and control efforts at national and international scales. Her work has informed global rabies management strategies and regional approaches to disease control, with particular emphasis on the Caribbean context where she has conducted extensive field research. As an educator, Dr. Seetahal is committed to training veterinary students and professionals in rabies diagnostics and prevention. Her position provides students with hands-on experience in diagnostic techniques and exposure to real-world public health challenges related to zoonotic diseases at the human-animal interface.
Pietro Catania serves as a Full Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Sciences at the University of Palermo's Polytechnic School. His office is located in Room No. 135 of the SAAF Department, where he holds regular office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 13:00, as well as at the Viticulture and Enology Degree Course Headquarters. Professor Catania has maintained a consistent academic presence since at least 2009, teaching specialized courses in agricultural mechanization with particular expertise in viticulture systems and precision farming technologies. Professor Catania's research spans several critical areas of modern agricultural engineering: Precision Agriculture and Smart Farming Systems Drone and Remote Sensing Applications in Agriculture Viticulture Mechanization and Oenological Plants Agricultural Machinery Design and Ergonomics Sustainable Resource Management in Mediterranean Agriculture Post-harvest Technology and Processing Systems His recent scholarly output demonstrates a clear focus on cutting-edge technological applications in agriculture, particularly the integration of drones, sensors, and AI in vineyard and olive orchard management. Professor Catania's work bridges traditional agricultural practices with modern technological innovations, addressing practical challenges in irrigation management, precision spraying, yield mapping, and sustainable resource use across Sicilian agricultural landscapes. His research methodology often combines field studies with advanced data analytics to develop practical solutions for farmers. Professor Catania maintains an active teaching schedule for the 2025/2026 academic year, instructing courses such as 'Viticulture Mechanisation and Oenological Plants,' 'Mechanics and Agricultural Mechanisation,' 'Use of Drones and Machines for Precision Agriculture,' and 'Green Landscape Systems and Maintenance.' His student evaluations over multiple academic years (2014-2024) consistently reflect strong engagement with students across various agricultural technology programs.
Brian Gill is a Professor of Mathematics and Chair of the Mathematics Department at Seattle Pacific University (SPU) since 1999. He teaches probability, statistics, real/complex analysis, differential equations, and vector calculus, while integrating Christian values into a liberal arts framework. PhD in Mathematics (complex analysis) from University at Albany (1999) MS in Biometry and Statistics from University at Albany (1999) MA in Mathematics from University of Kentucky (1994) His research bridges geometric function theory with applied statistics in social sciences and health sciences. Recent work focuses on human-robot interaction (HRI) and human-computer interaction (HCI) , funded by National Science Foundation grants through partnerships with University of Washington labs. Key themes include: Moral accountability of robots Privacy in public spaces Security for implantable medical devices Technologically mediated natural experiences Publications span ACM/IEEE conferences, environmental psychology journals, and mathematical journals like Complex Variables . Outside academia, Dr. Gill prioritizes family life and outdoor activities, aligning with his emphasis on 'God’s creation.'
Alessandra Orfano is an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at Yale School of Public Health, with affiliations to the Yale Institute for Global Health and the Aksoy Lab. Her research focuses on parasite-vector interactions, particularly the genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum and its impact on transmission to Anopheles mosquitoes. PhD in Health Sciences (2016), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil MSc in Health Sciences (2012), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation BSc in Biology (2009), Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais Her work spans vector biology, tropical diseases, and genetic analysis, with recent studies on malaria vaccine candidates, arboviral coinfections, and vector microbiome dynamics. She employs techniques in metagenomics, microscopy, and paratransgenesis to dissect transmission mechanisms. Her publications highlight collaborations with experts like Brian Weiss and Sunil Parikh, addressing challenges in malaria, leishmaniasis, and Zika virus transmission. Notably, she received the KL2 Award from Yale Center for Clinical Investigation in 2023. She is involved in training at Yale, contributing to the Janeway Society, and advancing interdisciplinary research in infectious disease modeling.
Patrick Forré is an Assistant Professor and Lab Manager of the AI4Science Lab at the Informatics Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam. His work bridges theoretical machine learning and scientific applications, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across informatics, mathematics, ecology, chemistry, physics, biology, and astrophysics. His research centers on mathematical foundations of machine learning including causal inference, graphical models, information theory, conditional independence structures, and geometric deep learning. He specializes in applying these techniques to scientific data problems, particularly in electro-catalysis and nitrogen fixation, where machine learning enhances molecular simulations and quantum chemical modeling. His theoretical work addresses non-linear structural causal models with cycles and latent confounders. The AI4Science Lab under his management focuses on detecting hidden patterns in scientific data through projects like electrode-electrolyte interface modeling, nitrogen-fixing coordination complexes analysis, and classical DFT neural approximations. Located in LAB42 Building at Amsterdam Science Park, the lab connects diverse scientific disciplines through machine learning innovation while organizing colloquia, workshops, and PhD defenses.
