I am currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Purdue University’s Department of Anthropology, and a student of Dr. Melissa J. Remis (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~remis/Home.html). I am broadly interested in primate ecology, behavior, and health, with additional interests in primate conservation and hominid evolution. My dissertation research examines the effects of behavioral ecology on parasite transmission among primate hosts. More specifically, I am interested in how social grooming and interspecific interactions influence the dynamics of parasite transmission among wild primates. I am currently conducting fieldwork in Mpumalanga/Limpopo Province, South Africa, that integrates behavioral, ecological, and parasitological data to address unresolved questions regarding wildlife and human health, primate parasite transmission patterns, and the evolution of primate social behavior.

I received a B.A. in Anthropology, with a minor in Biology, from Ball State University in 1999. After working as a veterinary technician and in the animal care field, I returned to Ball State for my M.A. in Anthropology, again with a minor in Biology, which I completed in 2006. During this time, I worked with numerous animal species at the Indianapolis Zoo; companion animals in the veterinary field; and various small North American mammals through the Biology Department of Ball State. I have conducted ecological fieldwork in South Africa, east-central Indiana, the Great Smokey Mountains, and Belize.

My Masters thesis research, Gastrointestinal Parasites of the Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus [Cercopithecus] aethiops) at a Sanctuary in Limpopo Province, South Africa, examined differences in parasitic infection patterns between captive and non-captive vervet monkeys that occur in the same habitat and site and have direct contact with one another. Fecal samples from both wild and captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus [Cercopithecus] aethiops) at a sanctuary near Tzaneen, Limpopo Province, South Africa, were collected and analyzed to determine which species of gastrointestinal parasites they harbored, and differences in infection rates were examined. Three parasites were found, including two nematodes (Trichuris trichiura and one tentatively classified as Strongyloides spp.) and one protozoa (Balantidium coli). Rates of B. coli and Strongyloides spp. infection were similar in captive (41.9% and 77.4%, respectively) and wild (35% and 75%, respectively) monkeys, but rates of T. trichiura infection were significantly higher in wild individuals. No captives were infected with T. trichiura, but 15% of wild monkeys were infected. All three parasites can infect humans, suggesting that humans and vervets in the region have the potential to transmit parasites to one another.

While at Purdue, I have assisted with the teaching of both ANTH 100: Introduction to Anthropology and ANTH 204: Introduction to Human Evolution. I have also taught an introductory course on biological anthropology and laboratory courses in biological anthropology at Ball State University, where I also assisted with introductory courses in anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. Additionally, I co-direct a field course in South Africa that focuses on the primates of the region, including vervets, chacma baboons, samango monkeys, and bushbabies. 

I am currently in Mpumalanga/Limpopo Province, South Africa, conducting my fieldwork research for my dissertation project, Behavioral Ecology of Primate-Parasite Interactions. I am based at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, where I am studying three groups of vervet monkeys within the reserve. Specifically, I am examining the effects of grooming and interspecific interactions on parasite transmission patterns in primates, using vervet monkeys as a model species. My current research project has been funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, and the Purdue Research Foundation.

Behavioral Ecology of Primate-Parasite Interactions

ABSTRACT: This research examines the role of primate behavioral ecology in shaping parasite transmission dynamics among primates and the species with which they associate, using vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) as a model species. This study will focus on two aspects of primate behavioral ecology that potentially influence parasitic infections: 1) grooming, and 2) traveling or associating with other species (i.e., interspecific associations). Researchers in multiple disciplines have traditionally assumed that grooming serves a hygienic role in primate social systems by reducing the numbers of parasites on individuals, however the close contact involved in allogrooming likely increases the risk of transmission of directly transmitted parasites. Relatively little is known about how interactions between nonhuman primates and other mammals influence parasite transmission, but greater host diversity should allow for the persistence of generalist parasites. I will employ behavioral and parasitological research techniques to address unresolved questions concerning the interactions between primate biology, ecology, and social behavior and the evolutionary consequences of those interactions. Data from this project will have implications for our understanding of the influence of parasite transmission on the evolution of sociality and language among primates and hominids as well as disease transmission risks between primates and other species, including humans.