Author: amandakylegibson

Mandy was elected to serve on the Council of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) from 2026 through 2028! Councilors are part of the leadership of SSE and have an opportunity to shape the future of this important scientific society: https://www.evolutionsociety.org/content/officers.html

Postdoc Caroline Amoroso was awarded a K99 from NIGMS to continue her independent research on the evolution of pathogen avoidance, in collaboration with the Rockman Lab at NYU

Louis has a new paper out in the American Naturalist showing the potential for recurring bottlenecks to suppress disease spread and drive parasites extinct: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/736576

Congratulations to Louis Bubrig on earning his PhD! His dissertation is entitled “The dynamics of epidemics and the opportunity for host dispersal as a means of escape.” He has one chapter published and two more on the way.

Postdoc Caroline Amoroso, along with undergraduates Adianna Lockwood-Shabat and Andreas Kamali, have a new paper out on covariance of avoidance and resistance. They show that avoidance can vary independently of resistance and is also highly specific to parasite strain. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70109

Congratulations to PhD student Juliana Jiranek for being awarded an EXPAND fellowship through UVA’s NSF NRT Program. She will collaborate with Environmental Sciences professor Meghan Blumstein as part of this fellowship.

Postdoc Caroline Amoroso spearheaded a new primer on “Avoidance of Infection,” in collaboration with Pedro Vale at the University of Edinburgh. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00494-4

Louis was selected as the recipient of the Lisa A. Smith Endowed Graduate Fellowship! This fellowship recognizes Louis’s outstanding academic achievements and potential in his field of study, and it is among the highest honors bestowed by UVA’s Graduate School.

It’s out! Featuring amazing contributions by our faculty, trainees, and staff

Members of the lab (upper left featuring Abbey, Juliana, and friend of the lab Rosel upper left) made an impressive showing at the annual Halloween Party. Congratulations to Abbey for winning the prize for best baked good! Cupcakes featured above.