My research interests encompass ecology and public health. I am particularly interested in how anthropogenic changes, mainly pollution, climate change, and alterations to biodiversity, affect wildlife populations, species interactions, and the spread of both wildlife and human diseases. These effects are undoubtedly complex and dependent upon biotic and abiotic conditions. Consequently, my collaborators and I have studied interactions among multiple natural and anthropogenic stressors and are making efforts to integrate our research across disciplines. Our goal is to understand and develop solutions to, environmental problems to enhance the likelihood of a sustainable existence for both humans and wildlife. Much of my wildlife research has focused on amphibians because they are declining globally and much of my human disease work has focused on zoonotic bacteria and schistosomiasis. However, I have worked with a diversity of host taxa and parasite taxa and I tend to be more motivated by interesting questions, syntheses, and the quest for generalities than taxa-specific pursuits. When possible, I try to integrate laboratory experiments, mesocosm studies, field experiments, field surveys, and mathematical models to enhance our understanding of natural systems.

My current and active research interests in ecology fall at the interface of ecotoxicology, conservation biology, and community, population, behavioral, climate change, and disease ecology. My current and active research interests in public health involve understanding drivers of human schistosomiasis, how to feed the projected 11 billion people on the planet sustainably, the impacts of climate change on vector-borne and other zoonotic diseases, the effects of biodiversity on disease risk, and microbiome-infectious disease interactions.