Current DEBVBD students:
Cusi Ferradas
Cusi Ferradas, DVM, MPH, is a third-year doctoral student in the Graduate Group of Epidemiology. She obtained her DVM in Peru and her MPH from Johns Hopkins University. Cusi’s previous research focused on creating nanoparticle-based diagnostic techniques for malaria and toxoplasmosis, as well as studying the risk factors for multi-drug resistant staphylococcus carriage among domestic animals. While pursuing her MPH, Dr. Ferradas was an intern at the Department of Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases at the Maryland Department of Health. There, she became aware of the high burden of ectoparasite-borne diseases among humans and animals and decided to address this understudied topic in Peru. Cusi has been working on ectoparasite-borne diseases since 2019, when she obtained the GloCal Health Fellowship with the project “The role of domestic animals and rodents in the ecology and epidemiology of rickettsias in the Peruvian Amazon basin.” She is now working on her doctoral thesis that aims to characterize the spatial distribution of genetic lineages of the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) and understand human, dog, and environmentally related risk factors for Ehrlichia canis infection among dogs living in Iquitos. Cusi’s long-term goal is to establish a research group in ectoparasite-borne diseases in Peru to more accurately diagnose these diseases and establish effective preventive and control measures.
Major Professor: Janet Foley, PhD
Sarah Abusaa Major Professor: Chris Barker, PhD
Laura Backus Major Professor: Janet Foley, PhD
Shih-Yu Chen Major Professor: Chris Barker, PhD
Anna Erickson Major Professor: Bryce Falk, PhD
Anna Kawiecki Major Professor: Chris Barker, PhD
Erin Kelly Major Professor: Geoffrey Attardo, PhD
Cileah Kretsch Major Professor Su Hao Lo
Lindsey Mack Major Professor: Geoffrey Attardo, PhD
Adam Moore Major Professor: Lark Coffey, PhD & Christine Johnson, PhD
Francesca Rubino Major Professor: Janet Foley, PhD
Kyle Yomogida Major Professor: Beatriz Martinez Lopez, PhD
Talia Wong Major Professor: Chris Barker, PhD
DEBVBD Alumni:
Christy Andrade Associate Professor, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
Veronica Armijos Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Davis
Erin Ball AFRIMS Bangkok
Nick Booster Deceased and sorely missed.
Ashley (Horton) Brenton Associate Director, R&D, Proove Biosciences, Irvine, CA
Sharon Brummitt
Brian Butler Associate Professor St. Georges University, Grenada, West Indies
Jenny Carlson Postdoctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Jennifer Chau Staff Development Scientist, Clinical Affairs, Beckman Coulter, Sacramento, CA
Mary Beth Danforth Research Scientist California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, CA
Marisa Donnelly California Department of Public Health, Berkeley, CA
Anna Drexler Consultant, Vector Ecology and Management World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Jessica Franco
Elizabeth Glennon Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA
Jessica Healy Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Karen Holcomb Biologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO
Andra Hutton Senior Research Associate II California Animal Health and Food Safety, Davis, CA
Jennifer Kwan Analyst National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Stanley Langevin Senior Research Scientist University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Kelly Liebman Postdoctoral Fellow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
William Louie Postdoctoral Fellow University of California, Davis, Davis CA
Payal Maharaj Postdoctoral Fellow University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
Brittany Nelms Entomologist Lake County Vector Control District, Lakeport, CA
Sandra Olkowski Data Analyst Citrus Research Board for UCD and CRB
Norma Ordaz Research Scientist, Clear Labs, Newark, California
Risa Pesapane Tenure Track Faculty, Ecosystem Health, Ohio State University
Benjamin Plourde Science Teacher, Albany Unified School District, Albany, CA
Mimi Portillo
Rashaun Potts Research Scientist Cerus Corporation, Concord, CA
Jennifer Reed Epidemiologist, Decision Resource Group
Lisa Reimer Lecturer Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK
Kasen Riemersma Staff Scientist at Promega, Madison, WI
Tara Roth Vector Ecologist San Mateo Mosquito and Vector Control District Burlingame, CA
Melody Schmid Professor Butte College, Oroville, CA
Nicole Stephenson Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Davis
Pascale Stiles Postdoctoral Epidemiologist, National Veterinary Institute, Sweden
Matthew Stuckey Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, CDC
Win Surachetpong Assistant Professor Kesetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
Tara Thiemann Assistant Professor University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
Sarah Wheeler District Biologist Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District, Elk Grove, CA
Olivia Winokur Postdoctoral Fellow University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Jaclyn Wong Postdoctoral Fellow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
