Luis E. Escobar

Luis E. Escobar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. He holds adjunct roles at the Global Change Center and Virginia Tech Faculty of Health Sciences. His research focuses on disease ecology and biogeography, particularly investigating how environmental instability influences infectious disease dynamics. Escobar earned a D.V.M. from Universidad de San Carlos (2009), followed by M.Sc. degrees in Wildlife Management (2011) and Veterinary Sciences (2012), and a Ph.D. in Conservation Medicine (2014) from Universidad Andres Bello.

His academic program centers on three themes: [1] Disease Biogeography, [2] Global Change and Infectious Diseases, and [3] Ecoinformatics. Notable collaborations include developing computational tools for multi-scale analyses of host-pathogen systems. He received an NIH award for studying rabies transmission from wildlife to humans.

• Education:
  • D.V.M., Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala (2009)
  • M.Sc., Wildlife Management, Universidad de San Carlos (2011)
  • M.Sc., Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello (2012)
  • Ph.D., Conservation Medicine (Summa Cum Laude), Universidad Andres Bello (2014)

Research interests span climate change impacts on disease spread, zoonotic pathogens (e.g., rabies, hantavirus), and ecological niche modeling. His publications frequently address emerging infectious diseases like Oropouche fever and mpox, emphasizing One Health approaches. Escobar’s lab members include Paige, Connor, Sharif, Reilly, Nine, Diego, and Abdu, reflecting a commitment to training future scientists.

Key achievements include modeling vampire bat rabies spillover and contributions to The Lancet Countdown reports on climate change and health. He has advised students such as Castillo Signor LC, Edwards T, and Winter SN, advancing studies in dengue epidemiology and chronic wasting disease.