Summer 2025 Lab Updates

As the 2024-2025 school year comes to a close, we have much to celebrate! Having defended their honours theses and freshly graduated, Julia and Shawn will be returning to the lab as graduate students this coming fall. We have also welcomed three new lab members: Master’s Student Sydney Dam, Associate Researcher Amanda Zimmerman, and Research Assistant Sara Gunderson (also having defended her honours thesis and freshly graduated)!

Lastly, lab members Sydney and Reilly will be attending the Canadian Association of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (CAVEPM) at the University of Calgary. While attending CAVEPM, Sydney will give a poster presentation for her scoping review on the ecological factors that influence the survival, reproduction, and establishment of Culicoides spp. This review will provide the foundation for further research, including the development of a species distribution model. Reilly will be presenting a model for the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) between Ontario dairy herds, as well as evaluating the risk of spillover into agricultural workers.

We look forward to sharing more details regarding all of the exciting and diverse research currently underway in the Mathematical Epidemiology Lab!

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Julia's Current Research

Entering the fourth year of her undergraduate degree in Biology, Julia is in the early stages of her undergraduate thesis. Julia’s research is focused on investigating the transmission dynamics of Equine Herpesvirus Type-1 (EHV-1) in a population of thoroughbred racehorses. Some key aspects of her work will include estimating the reproductive number for the population, conducting risk assessment via logistic regression, survival analysis, creation of a simple deterministic mathematical (SEIR) model and evaluation of the effect of varying levels of herd immunity. Julia will also develop an agent-based model to simulate the transmission dynamics of EHV-1 in a similar population based on the aforementioned transmission parameters.

Reilly's Current Research

Fresh off his PhD work studying the networks of between-herd dairy cow movements in Ontario, Reilly is now working as a Post-Doc to apply these methods to assess the ‘what if’ scenarios associated with the introduction of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza into Ontario through imported dairy cattle. This involves a descriptive analysis of dairy cow imports from the United States to better understand where targetted surveillance may be more effective and efficient in Ontario. Future work will include mathematical modelling of within-herd transmission of H5N1 to assess the risk of spillover between dairy cattle and farm workers.

Riley's Current Research

This edition of the blog post is focused on team member Riley, who is entering the 2nd year of his PhD candidacy after completing his qualifying exams in the winter semester. Riley’s research consists of examining the impact of environmental and ecological factors influencing the current outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza – H5N1 on poultry farms in Canada, and has been recently accepted to present this research at the upcoming World One Health Congress hosted in Cape Town, South Africa.

Upcoming PhD Defense for Gabrielle!!!

Congratulations to math.epi.lab member Gabrielle Turcotte who is set to defend her PhD on July 24, 2024!

Gabrielle’s research focuses on assessing the role of biosecurity in the equine industry with a focus on horses that compete in the Olympic disciplines in Ontario, Canada. She explores the complexities within this field through the use of surveys, isolation activities, and agent-based modelling.

She has worked very hard developing this research and we are all very proud of her! Thank you to Gabrielle’s co-supervisor Dr. Terri O’Sullivan, and her committee members, Dr. Kelsey Spence, and Dr. Charlotte Winder. We are also welcoming our external examiner Dr. Brandy Burgess to OVC for the day from the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine.

We're back!!!

The summer semester is well underway and lots of exciting work is happening in the lab. Two summer students, Shawnice and Julia, have joined the team as undergraduate thesis students and are set up in our new lab at Trent. With the new team settled in, we will be reviving the blog! The team is currently working on several diverse research projects including:

• Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in correctional facilities

• The presentation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine evidence in court

• The exploration of equine biosecurity measures

• The investigation of Equine Herpesvirus-1 transmission dynamics

• The influence of environmental and ecological factors on outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

• And much much more!!!

With the team being divided between Peterborough and Guelph, we are eagerly awaiting the installation of our conference screen, which will make our virtual conferences easier and more accessible. We are also excited to announce that Gabrielle is preparing for her PhD defence for her research regarding equine biosecurity measures, which the team is thrilled to attend next month in Guelph. Stay tuned for more posts with further details regarding our projects!

We have arrived!

We are busy settling into our new spaces at Trent University. My office is starting to feel more familiar (and I really can’t argue with the huge window, natural light, and views that are not the rooftop technical ventilation system like at OVC). I will miss the sound of the horses downstairs.

I am working to get our lab space set up. It’s a great space with large windows, a private postdoc office, and lots of space for storing our equipment and also for setting up our computer hardware to ensure that everyone in the team has dedicated, protected workspace with computer monitors and docking stations (to make coding much less painful).

We can also hold our lab meetings in our new space without having to book a room. These are some photos from today. It needs some attention but the “bones” are amazing and we will get it into shape this winter.

Amy visits the STEM program at Assumption College School

On Friday May 6, 2022, Amy paid a visit to the STEM program at Assumption College School in Brantford, Ontario. Mr. Page is the Head of the Science Department there and he runs a large extra-curricular program in STEM. Their program has hosted a speaker series for many years that lets students interact with scientists from across academia, industry, and government. Amy shared a bit about her career trajectory with the students as well as some research highlights from projects that our team has conducted.