My research program investigates the evolution, phylogenetics, and immunopathogenesis of prevalent zoonoses, specializing in protozoan parasites including diplomonads (i.e., Giardia spp.), stremenopiles (i.e., Blastocystis spp.), amoebozoa (i.e.,Entamoeba spp.), parabasalids (i.e., Trichomonas spp.), kinetoplastids (i.e., Leishmania spp., Trypanosoma spp.), and the apicomplexa (i.e., Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora spp., Sarcocsytis spp., Cryptosporidia spp.). We perform whole genome sequencing, population genetic, and molecular epidemiology analyses to identify protozoal agents associated with epidemic disease, and we use both forward and reverse genetics to identify genetic determinants governing virulence shifts among the parasitic protozoa.