NEVBD

Current Job Title: PhD Student at Upstate Medical University

What do you do?

I am researching the ecology of Powassan virus in New York in both laboratory and field settings.

What is exciting about what you do?

A very new and exciting aspect of what I am doing now is working with tick-borne pathogens in a BSL-3 setting.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

Prior to starting the program, I had only done mosquito research; however, I was introduced to ticks during the MS, and I loved it! My MS degree and experience with tick ecology allowed me to join a vector control/ tick surveillance program in Delaware and, afterwards, a PhD program at Upstate Medical University to advance my knowledge of and experience with tick-borne viruses. These opportunities wouldn’t have been possible without having an educational background in medical entomology and a research-based thesis on ticks.

What was your favorite course from the program?

Introduction to Disease Vectors

Advice for others interested in a similar career who are considering our program?

You don’t know what your future career will require of you, but having a variety of skills beneficial to medical entomology will set you apart from other candidates. Choose a summer project that works with a vector least familiar to you. I had never worked with ticks before, but now I want it to be my career!

Current Job Title: Scientific Program Director, Kern Mosquito & Vector Control District

What do you do?

With the help of my colleagues, I collect mosquitoes from a grid of locations spread across my county. I then identify the species of mosquitoes (there are many different kinds) and, if I find any mosquitoes that pose risk to public health, I notify field operators to use mosquito control measures.

What is exciting about what you do?

Being at the forefront of surveilling and controlling invasive Aedes aegypti and West Nile virus vectors as they expand into the Central Valley of California.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

Having the MS degree from this program has equipped me with knowledge and skills required to succeed in an applied setting (where I currently work) and also has opened opportunities for me to advance as a research scientist.

What was your favorite course from the program?

Introduction to Disease Vectors, Control of Disease Vectors, and Insect Biology are most relevant and useful for my current job.

Advice for others interested in a similar career who are considering our program?

Current MS students: take advantage of the resources and the skilled, knowledgeable people you have around you. Roll up your sleeves, get involved and don’t hesitate to ask for help! For students thinking about joining the program: research the courses the program has to offer and job prospects in the field to make sure it fits with your career ambitions.

Current Job Title: Research Support Specialist, NEVBD Pesticide Resistance Monitoring Program

What do you do?

After completing the MS program at Cornell I started a job managing the pesticide resistance monitoring program at the NEVBD.

What is exciting about what you do?

I am really enjoying connecting with many of the members of the vector control and public health community in our region.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

During my time in the vector-borne disease biology program I became very aware of the interconnected nature of biodiversity, ecology and emerging diseases. I left the program feeling as strongly about animal and environmental health as I did about human health when I started. My hope is that my career will continue to focus on the evaluation of the tools we have as well as the development of new more targeted vector control tools that are safer for biodiversity.

What was your favorite course from the program?

Out of all of the classes I took I really enjoyed Insect Biology the most. I had the opportunity to create a 60 family insect collection and expand my knowledge of insects beyond disease vectors. I learned how so many insects impact environmental health and human health through agriculture.

Advice for others interested in a similar career who are considering our program?

If you are interested in medical entomology or vector control I urge you to ask questions and then use whatever resources you have to answer them including emailing and discussing them with members of the public health and academic community in your area. We really like to talk about our work!

Current Job Title: Program Associate, McDermott Livestock Entomology Lab, University of Arkansas

What do you do?

I am a Program Associate for the McDermott Livestock Entomology Lab at the University of Arkansas. We currently have a focus on Culicoides and tick-borne diseases. In this position, I serve as the lab manager and technical support for research projects.

What is exciting about what you do?

I am excited to work with and learn more about Culicoides and the diseases they carry. I also think that vector-borne diseases are understudied in Arkansas, so there are many potential research possibilities in the future.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

During my MS, I gained experience in vector identification and how to set up vector surveillance programs. These skills opened a variety of career opportunities. Additionally, being involved with the NEVBD exposed me to a wide variety of vector professionals, which helped me to realize more types of careers existed in vector control than I previously thought.

What was your favorite course from the program?

Control of Disease Vectors was my favorite course because it was an area in which I had little knowledge beforehand and I enjoy seeing the many ways vector biology can be used for potential control methods.

Advice for others interested in a similar career who are considering our program?

My advice is to not be afraid to reach out to people. I have found the vector community very friendly and welcoming. People are usually more than willing to answer questions about their papers, their career, or provide technical support. These people can also lead to future collaborations or job opportunities. Since networking is so important for our field, I would recommend figuring out a way that works well for you (such as social media, conferences, or training opportunities).

Current Job Title: Vector-Borne Disease Epidemiologist, New Jersey Department of Health

What do you do?

I work for the New Jersey Department of Health as a vector-borne disease epidemiologist/ entomologist.

What is exciting about what you do?

I really enjoy how much I am learning on this job and being at the forefront of public health in New Jersey. As an epidemiologist, I review vector-borne disease cases and classify them for surveillance purposes. I analyze and report vector-borne disease trends in New Jersey. For the data nerd in me, I really enjoy this aspect of my work. Aside from those responsibilities, I will be coordinating New Jersey’s tick surveillance program. I am especially excited in helping other counties set up their tick surveillance by applying the training I received from the NEVBD program. For someone like me who thoroughly enjoys data science, epidemiology, medical entomology, and vector-borne diseases, my job is pretty exciting.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

The NEVBD masters program really opened my eyes regarding One Health and the importance of other vector-borne diseases. Prior to entering the program, I had limited knowledge on public health concepts and epidemiology. After taking courses in these topic areas as well as in medical entomology, I realized that I wanted to be in public health. The masters program taught me interdisciplinary approaches to public health issues.

What was your favorite course from the program?

I do not think I can pick one, but these are my top five (in no order): Intro to Disease Vectors, Epidemiology in Practice, Public Health Foundations I, Service-Based Business Models and Plans, and Python for Data Science. While the last two are not part of the core curriculum, they have helped me with my people, programming, and problem-solving skills. They were also fun in that I got to decide on a topic (or a business idea) of interest to me and work on it throughout a semester with a team.

Advice for others interested in a similar career who are considering our program?

I would say to begin with the end in mind. When I entered the program, I already knew I wanted to refine my data science skills and that I wanted to work on vector-borne diseases. It was all a matter of reflecting where my current skills were at the time and setting goals or a general game plan to achieve those goals. As far as concrete goals go, I would suggest improving statistics knowledge and data visualization, learning either R or Python (or both for the data nerds out there), be familiar with data science concepts, having a good foundation of public health and epidemiology, and finally having technical knowledge regarding how vector-borne diseases are spread, monitored, and controlled.

Current Job Title: Research Assistant / Insectary Technician, Catteruccia Lab Harvard University

What do you do?

Kate works for the Harvard Chan Arthropod Containment Facility and maintains core mosquito colonies for research purposes. She also provides experimental assistance to different research projects taking place in the laboratory.

Current Job Title: Mosquito-Borne Disease Control Coordinator for Lancaster and Lebanon Counties in Pennsylvania

What do you do?

We conduct routine surveillance for both mosquitoes and ticks as well as respond to resident mosquito complaints. Our mosquitoes and ticks are regularly tested for pathogens and we conduct adult control based on vector indices. A key part of my job involves education and community outreach, which is my favorite.

What is exciting about what you do?

I am excited to protect people from vector-borne diseases in my home state and conducting surveillance on the invasive Aedes albopictus. Also, although challenging, it’s exciting to learn how to effectively manage not one, but two county vector control programs.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

After completing the vector-borne disease biology program, I felt more confident in not only the vector biology aspects of my career, but also the administrative aspects like writing grants and budgeting. Additionally, many of the people I work with from the PA Department of Environmental Protection, I met during the MS program.

What was your favorite course from the program?

Public Health Communication was an extremely valuable and enjoyable course that I refer to when creating any outreach materials. Also, the Introduction to Disease Vectors lab was challenging, but left me feeling confident with species identification. Lastly, I loved insect biology because it was my first introduction to entomology and bugs.

Advice for others interested in a similar career?

Talk to as many people as you can. You never know where one conversation might take you. I first learned of this program from one conversation with the director for NYC’s vector control program. Also, I have learned an immense amount of information from just conversing with other professionals in this field.

Current Job Title: ORISE fellow at CDC Division of Vector-Borne Diseases

What do you do?

I work alongside a team of researchers on the entomology and ecology team conducting field and laboratory work regarding topics such as novel control techniques and insecticide resistance.

What is exciting about what you do?

I love being able to work with such experienced folks and being able to learn from them. This fellowship has also provided me the opportunity to see how vector surveillance and control functions across the nation.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

Having my MS made me a competitive candidate for this fellowship. The coursework was extremely applicable and relevant. Also going to conferences during my MS was helpful in making connections.

What was your favorite course from the program?

My favorite course was “control of disease vectors” because this was a topic I knew would be applicable to my future career. In addition the case study made the course impactful as we were able to troubleshoot mosquito issues with a community.

Advice for others interested in a similar career?

Reach out to medical entomologists in a variety of sectors to hear their story and better understand the ins and outs of each sector. Networking is also essential since the world of medical entomology is surprisingly small!

Current Job Title: Research Technician, Harrington Lab, Cornell University

What do you do?

In my current position, I am working on research related to mosquito ecology, identification, and assist with the NEVBD’s insecticide resistance monitoring program. I am also seeking employment opportunities in the field of disease vector ecology while working on publishing my master’s thesis as manuscripts on Jamestown Canyon virus.

What is exciting about what you do?

I am driven by thinking about why mosquito-borne disease cases occur where they do in space and time, and how this is connected to where certain mosquito species live and what they eat. A typical day for me includes reading, conducting blood meal analysis, interpreting DNA sequences, as well working on peer reviewed publications.

How has having the MS degree from the Vector-Borne Disease Biology Program influenced your career?

For me, having an MS degree has opened up the way I work. I feel more competent in both doing science and science communication, as well as collaborating with others to answer questions.

What was your favorite course from the program?

My favorite course was public health communication with Dr. Greiner Safi. This course was outside of the realm of study I had previously pursued. I enjoyed learning about theories of human behavior, and the importance of employing effective marketing strategies to create intriguing public health communication products.

Advice for others interested in a similar career?

Pursue opportunities that challenge you and are outside your comfort zone, reach out to other people in the field, and always believe in yourself!

Current Job Title: Vector Surveillance Specialist, Illinois Natural History Survey

What do you do?

Jamie works for the Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana as a vector surveillance specialist.