NEVBD

Class of 2020

Erin Hassett, MS

• Current Position: Ecology Graduate Student, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Syracuse, New York
• Thesis: Assessing the Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and the Risk of Tick Exposure of Park Visitors on Staten Island, New York (doi.org/10.7298/z3at-x952)
• Publication: Hassett E, Diuk-Wasser M, Harrington L, Fernandez P. 2022. Integrating tick density and park visitor behaviors to assess the risk of tick exposure in urban parks on Staten Island, New York. BMC Public Health. 22(1):1602. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13989-x

Phurchhoki Sherpa, MS

• Current Position: Entomology Research Assistant, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Purdue University; West Lafayette, Indiana
• Thesis: The Biology and Monitoring of the Invasive Asian Longhorned Tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, 1901 (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in the United States (doi.org/10.7298/fpsm-x550)
• Publication: Sherpa P, Harrington LC, Piedmonte NP, Wunderlin K, Falco RC. 2021. Optimal collection methods for Asian longhorned ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in the Northeast United States. J Med Entomol. 58(6):2255-63. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjab083

Class of 2021

Lindsay Baxter, MS

• Current Position: Entomology Research Support Specialist, Program Coordinator NEVBD Pesticide Resistance Monitoring Program, Cornell University; Ithaca, New York
• Thesis: Habitat Associations of a Powassan Virus Focus in Southern Maine (doi.org/10.7298/mwzh-ne68)
• Publication: Baxter L, Lubelczyk C, Harrington LC, Angelico J, Meagher MC, Smith RP, Robich RM. 2024. Features of consistent Powassan virus lineage II focus in southern Maine, United States. Am J Trop Med Hyg. tpmd230532. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0532

Cierra Briggs, MS

• Current Position: Testing and Evaluation Entomologist, Harris County Mosquito and Vector Control; Houston, Texas
• Thesis: Mosquito Diversity, Arboviral Risks, and Blood Feeding Patterns at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (doi.org/10.7298/0344-dr38)
• Publication: Briggs C, Osman R, Newman BC, Fikrig K, Danziger PR, Mader EM, Woc Colburn M, Harrington LC, Moncayo AB. 2023. Utilization of a zoo for mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) diversity analysis, arboviral surveillance, and blood feeding patterns. J Med Entomol. 60(6):1406-17. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjad111

Mervin Cuadera, MS

• Current Position: CDC Health Scientist (Data Scientist), CDC Polio Eradication Branch, SIR Team; Atlanta, Georgia
• Thesis: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Tickborne Diseases in Long Island, New York (doi.org/10.7298/pr3e-x437)
• Publication: Cuadera MKQ, Mader EM, Greiner Safi A, Harrington LC. 2023. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices for tick bite prevention and tick control among residents of Long Island, New York, USA. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 14(3):102124. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102124

Kate Thornburg, MS

• Current Position: Entomology Research Technician, Catteruccia Lab, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Boston, Massachusetts
• Thesis: Assessing Surveillance, Density, and Pathogens in the Ticks of Shelter Island, New York (doi.org/10.7298/k6h1-x792)

Class of 2022

Antonio Alvarado, MS

• Current Position: Epidemiologist I, Delaware Division of Public Health; Newark, Delaware
• Thesis: Chagas Disease Risk in National Parks: Exploring Employee Knowledge and Behaviors and Optimal Trapping Strategies for High-Risk Areas (doi.org/10.7298/sctn-r386)
• Publication: Alvarado A, Mader EM, Buttke D, Harrington LC. 2022. Southwestern national park service employee risk, knowledge, and concern for triatomine exposure: a qualitative analysis using a novel knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 16(9):e0010744. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010744

Nicole Foley, MS

• Current Position: ORISE Entomology Research Fellow, CDC Division of Vector-Borne Diseases; Fort Collins, Colorado
• Thesis: Monitoring the Emergence of Novel Tick Species and Pathogens in New York State (doi.org/10.7298/23b4-ed74)
• Publication:

Foley N, O’Connor C, Falco RC, Vinci V, Oliver J, Haight J, Sporn LA, Harrington L, Mader E, Wroblewski D, Backenson PB, Prusinski MA. 2023. Spatiotemporal distribution of Borrelia miyamotoi (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) and coinfection with other tick-borne pathogens in host-seeking Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) from New York State, USA. J Med Entomol. 60(4): 808-821. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjad054

Foley N, Balamurali S, Lampman J, Gangloff-Kaufmann J, Eastwood G, Cumbie AN, Mader EM, Harrington LC. 2023. New York State Tick Blitz: harnessing community-based science to understand range expansion of ticks. J Med Entomol. 60(4):708-17doi: 10.1093/jme/tjad039

Jamie Mangan, MS

• Current Position: Vector Ecologist, San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District; Covina, California
• Thesis: Mosquito Bridge Vectors and Their Potential Role in Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus Transmission in Southeast Virginia (doi.org/10.7298/6f8h-h857)
• Publication:

Mangan J, Kalunga L, Barritt J, Caulkins C, Wagenbrenner L, Gaines D, Harrington L. 2024. Comparison of four collection methods for monitoring eastern equine encephalitis putative bridge vectors in a focus of enzootic transmission in southern Virginia. In Review.

Mangan et al. Blood feeding patterns of mosquito vectors in a focus of eastern equine encephalitis transmission in southern Virginia. In preparation.

Joseph Poggi, MS

• Current Position: Laboratory Scientist, Public Health Laboratories, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services; Concord, New Hampshire
• Thesis: Investigation of Jamestown Canyon Virus Ecology in New Hampshire (doi.org/10.7298/symv-7e65”)
• Publication: Poggi JD, Conery C, Mathewson A, Bolton D, Lovell R, Harrington LC, Notarangelo M. 2023. Jamestown Canyon virus (Bunyavirales: Peribunyaviridae) vector ecology in a focus of human transmission in New Hampshire, USA. J Med Entomol. 60(4):778-88. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjad046

Summer 2024 Cohort

• Ramsey Anis, Vermont Agency of Agriculture
• Michael Bianchi, Suffolk County (NY) Department of Health Services
• Aoife Fitzgerald, Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project
• Audrey Fletcher, Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project
• Abby Golembiewski, Hunterdon County (NJ) Mosquito Control
• Drake (Jinlong) Guo, New Jersey Office of Mosquito Control Coordination
• Ellen Osterman, University of Maryland Entomology Department
• Samuel Payne, MaineHealth Institute for Research Vector Ecology Lab
• David Piccirilli, Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project

2024

Rapid Research: Cross-Center Summer Interns Research Symposium

2024 summer interns from across the CDC-funded Centers of Excellence and Teaching & Evaluation Centers share their work in 5 minute lightning talks, with special guests from the AMCA Young Professionals. Access the playlist