Bozeman Disease Ecology Lab

Our Team

5) Team selfie CCLU001_Maureen Kessler.jpg

5) Team selfie CCLU001_Maureen Kessler.jpg

The Plowright lab meets weekly with the Cross lab (US Geological Survey), the Olsen lab (Wildlife Conservation Society), and a number of Bozeman-based collaborators and friends (MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Penn State, and Washington State).

Meet the Lab

Principal Investigator

Raina Plowright - Raina is an infectious disease ecologist, epidemiologist, and wildlife veterinarian. After training as a veterinarian in Australia, she worked as a domestic animal and wildlife veterinarian in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica. Raina did a PhD in Ecology and MS in Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis and a postdoc at the Center for Infectious Disease Dyanmics at Pennsylvania State University.Email: here to view an abbreviated CV. — Raina Plowright

Raina is an infectious disease ecologist, epidemiologist, and wildlife veterinarian. After training as a veterinarian in Australia, she worked as a domestic animal and wildlife veterinarian in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica. Raina did a PhD in Ecology and MS in Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis and a postdoc at the Center for Infectious Disease Dyanmics at Pennsylvania State University.
Email:
Click here to view an abbreviated CV.

static1.squarespace.com.jpg — Raina Plowright

Raina is an infectious disease ecologist, epidemiologist, and wildlife veterinarian. After training as a veterinarian in Australia, she worked as a domestic animal and wildlife veterinarian in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica. Raina did a PhD in Ecology and MS in Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis and a postdoc at the Center for Infectious Disease Dyanmics at Pennsylvania State University.
Email:
Click here to view an abbreviated CV.

Post Doctoral Researchers

Alex Washburne - Alex is a postdoc in the pathogen spillover project. Alex received his PhD from Princeton University, studying ecological theory, in particular stochastic community dynamics and trophic island-biogeography in small and fragmented communities. He is interested in everything, and nowadays focuses his attention on phylogenetic patterns (in pathogens and in hosts) of spillover occurrence, frequency and cost, as well as other probabilistic models for assessing spillover risk.Email: — Alex Washburne

Alex is a postdoc in the pathogen spillover project. Alex received his PhD from Princeton University, studying ecological theory, in particular stochastic community dynamics and trophic island-biogeography in small and fragmented communities. He is interested in everything, and nowadays focuses his attention on phylogenetic patterns (in pathogens and in hosts) of spillover occurrence, frequency and cost, as well as other probabilistic models for assessing spillover risk.
Email:

Alex Washburne

Alex is a postdoc in the pathogen spillover project. Alex received his PhD from Princeton University, studying ecological theory, in particular stochastic community dynamics and trophic island-biogeography in small and fragmented communities. He is interested in everything, and nowadays focuses his attention on phylogenetic patterns (in pathogens and in hosts) of spillover occurrence, frequency and cost, as well as other probabilistic models for assessing spillover risk.
Email:

PhD Students

Manuel Ruiz Aravena - Manuel is a postdoc at Montana State University and Griffith University, Australia. For his PhD, Manuel investigated the Tasmanian devil and its Facial Tumour Disease, which threatens the species with extinction. His current work integrates veterinary sciences, ecology and evolutionary biology to understand how host health drives the ecology and evolution of diseases. Manuel completed his veterinary degree at Chile’s Universidad Austral, before moving to Australia for his PhD at the University of Tasmania. Read about his PhD work here. — Manuel Ruiz Aravena

Manuel is a postdoc at Montana State University and Griffith University, Australia. For his PhD, Manuel investigated the Tasmanian devil and its Facial Tumour Disease, which threatens the species with extinction. His current work integrates veterinary sciences, ecology and evolutionary biology to understand how host health drives the ecology and evolution of diseases. Manuel completed his veterinary degree at Chile’s Universidad Austral, before moving to Australia for his PhD at the University of Tasmania. Read about his PhD work here.

Manuel Ruiz Aravena

Manuel is a postdoc at Montana State University and Griffith University, Australia. For his PhD, Manuel investigated the Tasmanian devil and its Facial Tumour Disease, which threatens the species with extinction. His current work integrates veterinary sciences, ecology and evolutionary biology to understand how host health drives the ecology and evolution of diseases. Manuel completed his veterinary degree at Chile’s Universidad Austral, before moving to Australia for his PhD at the University of Tasmania. Read about his PhD work here.

German Botto - German is on a Latin American Fulbright Fellowship. German specializes in bat ecology, disease dynamics and epidemiology. He is a member of the IUCN Bat Specialist Group and has extensive field, bat detection, disease modeling, and GIS experience. See more about German here.Email: — German Botto

German is on a Latin American Fulbright Fellowship. German specializes in bat ecology, disease dynamics and epidemiology. He is a member of the IUCN Bat Specialist Group and has extensive field, bat detection, disease modeling, and GIS experience. See more about German here.
Email:

German Botto

German is on a Latin American Fulbright Fellowship. German specializes in bat ecology, disease dynamics and epidemiology. He is a member of the IUCN Bat Specialist Group and has extensive field, bat detection, disease modeling, and GIS experience. See more about German here.
Email:

Dan Crowley - While at Columbia University, Dan worked on his thesis with EcoHealth Alliance, focusing on bat surveillance data from their Nipah Virus project. He is interested in the intersection of disease ecology, immunology, pathogen diagnostics, and public health surveillance systems and has had the opportunity to work on disease surveillance systems in South Africa and Tanzania. Dan is originally from California, growing up in Sonoma County and then living in North East Los Angeles for 6 years. He has a growing interest in rock climbing and fly fishing, and looks forward to #crushing many sweet routes in Bozeman.Email: — Dan Crowley

While at Columbia University, Dan worked on his thesis with EcoHealth Alliance, focusing on bat surveillance data from their Nipah Virus project. He is interested in the intersection of disease ecology, immunology, pathogen diagnostics, and public health surveillance systems and has had the opportunity to work on disease surveillance systems in South Africa and Tanzania. Dan is originally from California, growing up in Sonoma County and then living in North East Los Angeles for 6 years. He has a growing interest in rock climbing and fly fishing, and looks forward to #crushing many sweet routes in Bozeman.
Email:

Dan C..jpg — Dan Crowley

While at Columbia University, Dan worked on his thesis with EcoHealth Alliance, focusing on bat surveillance data from their Nipah Virus project. He is interested in the intersection of disease ecology, immunology, pathogen diagnostics, and public health surveillance systems and has had the opportunity to work on disease surveillance systems in South Africa and Tanzania. Dan is originally from California, growing up in Sonoma County and then living in North East Los Angeles for 6 years. He has a growing interest in rock climbing and fly fishing, and looks forward to #crushing many sweet routes in Bozeman.
Email:

Caylee Falvo - Caylee earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of California Berkeley in Molecular Toxicology and Molecular Environmental Biology, where she became interested in wildlife disease ecology and ecoimmunology. She received a Master of Science from Colorado State University focused on understanding how climate change influences the demography and physiology of hibernators, and her dissertation will investigate interactions between Australian fruit bat immune responses, Hendra virus, and environmental conditions.Email: — Caylee Falvo

Caylee earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of California Berkeley in Molecular Toxicology and Molecular Environmental Biology, where she became interested in wildlife disease ecology and ecoimmunology. She received a Master of Science from Colorado State University focused on understanding how climate change influences the demography and physiology of hibernators, and her dissertation will investigate interactions between Australian fruit bat immune responses, Hendra virus, and environmental conditions.
Email:

Caylee Falvo

Caylee earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of California Berkeley in Molecular Toxicology and Molecular Environmental Biology, where she became interested in wildlife disease ecology and ecoimmunology. She received a Master of Science from Colorado State University focused on understanding how climate change influences the demography and physiology of hibernators, and her dissertation will investigate interactions between Australian fruit bat immune responses, Hendra virus, and environmental conditions.
Email:

Maureen Kessler - Maureen earned her Master of Science from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is broadly interested in the ecology of zoonotic pathogens. For her dissertation, she is using an interdisciplinary approach across scales to investigate the dynamics of Hendra virus in reservoir populations of Australian fruit bats. More specifically, Maureen is using fieldwork and model-based approaches to investigate energetics and decision-making in bat foraging strategies between remnant native forest and the urban environments where virus spillover occurs.Email: — Maureen Kessler

Maureen earned her Master of Science from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is broadly interested in the ecology of zoonotic pathogens. For her dissertation, she is using an interdisciplinary approach across scales to investigate the dynamics of Hendra virus in reservoir populations of Australian fruit bats. More specifically, Maureen is using fieldwork and model-based approaches to investigate energetics and decision-making in bat foraging strategies between remnant native forest and the urban environments where virus spillover occurs.
Email:

Maureen Kessler

Maureen earned her Master of Science from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is broadly interested in the ecology of zoonotic pathogens. For her dissertation, she is using an interdisciplinary approach across scales to investigate the dynamics of Hendra virus in reservoir populations of Australian fruit bats. More specifically, Maureen is using fieldwork and model-based approaches to investigate energetics and decision-making in bat foraging strategies between remnant native forest and the urban environments where virus spillover occurs.
Email:

Devin Jones - Devin earned her Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, where she developed a passion for bats. She assisted with field and lab work, examining the winter behavior and dietary habits of southern bats. Her Master of Science research at Grand Valley State University focused on the trophic transfer of a naturally occurring cyanotoxin, microcystin, from a freshwater lake to little brown bats. Outside of her master’s research, she collaborates with Dr. Amy Russell (GVSU) and Veronica Brown (UT) to analyze dietary habits of bats using Next Generation Sequencing.Email: — Devin Jones

Devin earned her Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, where she developed a passion for bats. She assisted with field and lab work, examining the winter behavior and dietary habits of southern bats. Her Master of Science research at Grand Valley State University focused on the trophic transfer of a naturally occurring cyanotoxin, microcystin, from a freshwater lake to little brown bats. Outside of her master’s research, she collaborates with Dr. Amy Russell (GVSU) and Veronica Brown (UT) to analyze dietary habits of bats using Next Generation Sequencing.
Email:

Devin Jones

Devin earned her Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, where she developed a passion for bats. She assisted with field and lab work, examining the winter behavior and dietary habits of southern bats. Her Master of Science research at Grand Valley State University focused on the trophic transfer of a naturally occurring cyanotoxin, microcystin, from a freshwater lake to little brown bats. Outside of her master’s research, she collaborates with Dr. Amy Russell (GVSU) and Veronica Brown (UT) to analyze dietary habits of bats using Next Generation Sequencing.
Email:

Undergraduate Students

Dale Hansen - Dale is an undergraduate in the honors college at Montana State University earning degrees in Microbiology and Psychology. She has previously studied hummingbird migration patterns and population health. Dale is interested in looking at the effects of changing resource landscapes on pathogen spillover.Email: — Dale Hansen

Dale is an undergraduate in the honors college at Montana State University earning degrees in Microbiology and Psychology. She has previously studied hummingbird migration patterns and population health. Dale is interested in looking at the effects of changing resource landscapes on pathogen spillover.
Email:

Dale Hansen

Dale is an undergraduate in the honors college at Montana State University earning degrees in Microbiology and Psychology. She has previously studied hummingbird migration patterns and population health. Dale is interested in looking at the effects of changing resource landscapes on pathogen spillover.
Email:

Brooklin Hunt - Brooklin is an honors student and undergraduate majoring in pre-veterinary microbiology and animal systems biotechnology with a genetics minor. In the past, she has been involved in owl conservation and research as well as summer coursework in raptor management at Cornell University. She is working to analyze seasonal and spatial variations in black flying fox diet composition. Brooklin's other research interests include flying fox roost structure and Hendra virus ecology.Email: — Brooklin Hunt

Brooklin is an honors student and undergraduate majoring in pre-veterinary microbiology and animal systems biotechnology with a genetics minor. In the past, she has been involved in owl conservation and research as well as summer coursework in raptor management at Cornell University. She is working to analyze seasonal and spatial variations in black flying fox diet composition. Brooklin's other research interests include flying fox roost structure and Hendra virus ecology.
Email:

Brooklin Hunt

Brooklin is an honors student and undergraduate majoring in pre-veterinary microbiology and animal systems biotechnology with a genetics minor. In the past, she has been involved in owl conservation and research as well as summer coursework in raptor management at Cornell University. She is working to analyze seasonal and spatial variations in black flying fox diet composition. Brooklin's other research interests include flying fox roost structure and Hendra virus ecology.
Email:

Statistician

Program Managers

Lab Technician

Sara LaTrielle - Sara LaTrielle has worked in program management and organizational leadership in a variety of donor-funded organizations throughout Asia, Africa, and the United States, including PSI (Population Services International), CDC (Center for Disease Control), and icddr,b, focusing on global health and social marketing projects. Sara received her MBA at the University of Montana and her BA in Anthropology and Asian Studies at the University of Montana and currently resides in Missoula, Montana. — Sara LaTrielle

Sara LaTrielle has worked in program management and organizational leadership in a variety of donor-funded organizations throughout Asia, Africa, and the United States, including PSI (Population Services International), CDC (Center for Disease Control), and icddr,b, focusing on global health and social marketing projects. Sara received her MBA at the University of Montana and her BA in Anthropology and Asian Studies at the University of Montana and currently resides in Missoula, Montana.

Sara LaTrielle

Sara LaTrielle has worked in program management and organizational leadership in a variety of donor-funded organizations throughout Asia, Africa, and the United States, including PSI (Population Services International), CDC (Center for Disease Control), and icddr,b, focusing on global health and social marketing projects. Sara received her MBA at the University of Montana and her BA in Anthropology and Asian Studies at the University of Montana and currently resides in Missoula, Montana.

Mary McFadzen - Mary provides program management support to the Bozeman Disease Ecology Lab and to the NSF and PREEMPT research projects at Montana State University. She also provides communications and science outreach expertise to the US Fish and Wildlife Service on landscape conservation projects. After making the leap from studying birds to communicating science years ago, Mary has been developing and disseminating science-based information to natural resource professionals in online and print formats. Mary holds a MS degree in ecology from Utah State University.Email: — Mary McFadzen

Mary provides program management support to the Bozeman Disease Ecology Lab and to the NSF and PREEMPT research projects at Montana State University. She also provides communications and science outreach expertise to the US Fish and Wildlife Service on landscape conservation projects. After making the leap from studying birds to communicating science years ago, Mary has been developing and disseminating science-based information to natural resource professionals in online and print formats. Mary holds a MS degree in ecology from Utah State University.
Email:

Mary McFadzen

Mary provides program management support to the Bozeman Disease Ecology Lab and to the NSF and PREEMPT research projects at Montana State University. She also provides communications and science outreach expertise to the US Fish and Wildlife Service on landscape conservation projects. After making the leap from studying birds to communicating science years ago, Mary has been developing and disseminating science-based information to natural resource professionals in online and print formats. Mary holds a MS degree in ecology from Utah State University.
Email:

Wyatt Madden - Wyatt is a statistician with expertise in spatial statistics, time series analysis, and Bayesian modeling. He earned his MS in statistics from Montana State University after studying economics and mathematics at University of California, Santa Cruz. — Wyatt Madden

Wyatt is a statistician with expertise in spatial statistics, time series analysis, and Bayesian modeling. He earned his MS in statistics from Montana State University after studying economics and mathematics at University of California, Santa Cruz.

Wyatt Madden

Wyatt is a statistician with expertise in spatial statistics, time series analysis, and Bayesian modeling. He earned his MS in statistics from Montana State University after studying economics and mathematics at University of California, Santa Cruz.

Lab Alumni

- Read about former students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff. — Read about former students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff.

Read about former students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff.