THE MURDOCK LAB
Halloween 2016
Halloween 2018
Lab Head: Courtney C. Murdock
Associate Professor
6136 Comstock Hall
Department of Entomology College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
Contact:
Graduate Students:
Kerri Miazgowicz (NSF GRFP doctoral fellow)
PhD student (Jan 2016 - present)
247 Veterinary Medicine
Department of Infectious Diseases
College of Veterinary Medicine
Contact:
Broadly, I am interested in exploring the ecological drivers of mosquito-borne disease transmission. My research investigates the role of the environment in the interface of mosquito biology and pathogen development, and ultimately vectorial capacity. Laboratory and field components will be integrated with mathematical modelling to gain a better understanding of disease dynamics within mosquito populations. Currently, I am using the Zika virus - Aedes albopictus / Aedes aegypti system and the Anopheles stephensi - human malaria system to address these questions.
Michelle Evans (NSF GRFP doctoral fellow)
PhD student (Aug 2016 - present)
136 Ecology Building
Odum School of Ecology
Contact:
I am interested in the effects of land-use change on vector-borne disease dynamics and ecology. Specifically, my research is focused on how mosquito ecology shifts across an urban landscape to influence human risk of mosquito-borne disease (e.g dengue and Zika). I approach this problem from an interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating the social, ecological, and political complexities characteristic of urban systems.
Nicole Solano (IDEAS NSF Fellow)
PhD student (Aug 2017 - present)
136 Ecology Building
Odum School of Ecology
Contact:
I am interested in exploring the effect of larval interspecific competition on adult mosquito community dynamics and fitness with regards to disease transmission, how the outcome of competition is mediated by variation in microclimate due to land use change, and how mathematical models could use these data for broad-scale predictions about human disease transmission.
Mike Newberry (IDEAS NSF Fellow)
PhD student (Aug 2017 - present)
136 Ecology Building
Odum School of Ecology
Contact:
I am investigating the interaction of the microbiome, the mosquito vector, and environmental factors. This includes examining within host and outside host microbial communities and observing how they vary across land use and season. I also intend to empirically determine the impacts of the microbiome on the vectorial capacity and life history traits of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. My overall goal is to utilize a line of questioning that spans multiple scales of ecology to better understand abiotic and biotic drivers of vector-borne disease transmission.
Undergraduate Researchers and Volunteers:
Lilith South (Spring 2018, REU student 2018, Aug 2018 - present)
Sydney Habegger (Summer 2018 - present)
Alyssa Slicko (REU student, 2018)
Carl Hintz (REU student, 2017)
Lindsey Jones (REU student, 2017)
Emily Cook (Georgia Veterinay Scholar, 2017)
Justine Shiau (Fall 2016 - July 2018)
Jack Owen (Spring 2016 - Spring 2017)
Diana Diaz (Summer 2016 - Fall 2016)
Kavya Balaji (Fall 2016 - Spring 2018)
Nicole Solano (REU student, 2016)
Temitayo Andanlawo (REU student, 2016)
Taylor McClanahan (REU student, 2015)