Principal Investigator
Maria is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology (E3B). Her research integrates a wide range of empirical and analytical tools to disentangle the ecological and environmental drivers for the emergence of vector-borne diseases, particularly tick-borne. Current research focuses on the role of pathogen interactions, host community composition, climate and land use change in the epidemics of multiple tick-borne pathogens in the United States. Other research interests include landscape ecology, evolutionary ecology, behavioral ecology and conservation biology.