EcoHealthNet

EcoHealthNet is a program for US and international graduate students (Masters or Doctoral) who are interested in infectious disease research. EcoHealthNet is comprised of 2 parts: an annual workshop and a research exchange program. Workshop participants will receive high-level training from experts on topics such as mathematical modeling and spatial analysis, field and laboratory techniques for disease ecology studies, the economic costs of emerging diseases, and epidemiology and ecology. Exchange students will conduct 3-month research projects on high-profile, well-funded US-based and international research projects, ranging from Nipah virus surveillance in Bangladesh to developing primers for avian influenza viruses in China to wildlife surveillance in Brazil to White Nose Syndrome in the United States. Those interested in applying for EcoHealthNet may apply for the workshop, the research exchange, or both. Workshop themes are different each year, and some research exchange projects may be different each year.

Information for EcoHealthNet 2012

The application is now closed for the 2012 workshop and research exchange. Thank you for your interest! Accepted applicants will be notified in February 2012.

Check back in summer/fall 2012 for information on applying for the 2013 workshop and research exchange.

If you have any questions, please email ecohealthnet@ecohealthalliance.org.

2012 Workshop

The 2012 workshop, jointly hosted by the National Wildlife Health Center, University of Wisconsin, and University of Minnesota, will be held in early/mid-June 2012 in Madison, WI, USA. The theme of the EcoHealthNet 2012 Workshop is Epidemiology and Outbreak Investigation. Accepted applicants will participate in a 5-day workshop, with travel and accommodations included. More details to come soon!

The aim of this workshop will be to introduce students to epidemiological, molecular, and ecological methods for the investigation, monitoring, and response of infectious disease outbreaks. Outbreaks in wildlife or domestic animals can often precede or coincide with an epidemic of the same disease in people.  The detection of such an outbreak in animals can significantly accelerate the discovery of and response to a human epidemic Examples include the discovery of West Nile virus in the U.S., as well as multiple Ebola and Rift Valley fever outbreaks, in which public health professionals and veterinarians utilized specific epidemiological approaches for outbreak investigations. This workshop will use case studies, expert lectures, and wet labs to demonstrate these methods. It will be followed by field trips to the urban research sites. Instructors for this workshop will include veterinary and medical experts, wildlife biologist and ecologists. The workshop students will benefit from top-notch lectures and demonstrations from both the human and wildlife perspectives involved in disease investigation.

The workshop will cover topics such as the following:

• Outbreak response
• Epidemiologic study design
• Survey design
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Molecular diagnostics in outbreak response
• Ecological niche modeling
• Case studies

The workshop may have wet labs such as the following:

• Outbreak simulation
• Forensic Necropsy/sample collection/histopathology/and testing
• Stats (R, EpiInfo, SPSS, Excel)
• Tour of the National Wildlife Health Center and labs

The following is the tentative lineup of topics for future workshops:

• 2013 - Field and laboratory techniques for disease ecology studies
• 2014 - Economic costs of emerging diseases and introduced pathogens
• 2015 - [To be determined]

2012 Research Exchange

For descriptions of the 2012 research exchange projects, download the project descriptions PDF. All accepted applicants will receive funding support as part of EcoHealthNet, but are highly encouraged to seek external supplemental funding. The start dates for research exchange experiences are flexible and may be determined by the accepted individuals and the partner institution.

Some of this year's Research Exchange project titles include:

• Zoonotic disease dynamics in a fragmented landscape (Brazil)
• Measuring disease dynamics in wildlife, and their contact with people (Bangladesh)
• Capacity building & conservation of loggerhead turtles in Baja California (Mexico)
• Socio-economic drivers of pathogens in live animal trade (USA)
• Dynamics of avian influenza transmission in a mixed landscape (China)
• Ecological drivers of West Nile viral transmission (USA)
• Malaria ecology: combined vector ecology and epidemiology (Zambia)
• Predicting global hotspots: Updating the human emergence infectious disease events database (USA)
• Genetic and ecological factors for dengue virus transmission and disease severity (Brazil)
• Disease ecology pilot projects based in New York, NY (USA)

EcoHealthNet is a partnership among EcoHealth Alliance, the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment at the University of Wisconsin, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, the Tufts Center for Conservation Medicine at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, USGS, National Wildlife Health Center, DIVERSITAS ecoHEALTH, the International Association of Ecology and Health (IAEH), the University of Minnesota's Ecosystem Health Initiative, the CoHab initiative, Smithsonian-Mason Global Conservation Studies Program and a number of other partners.

Past Events

2011 Workshop

The 2011 workshop (see photos below!) hosted 20 participants representing 11 countries and nine instructors from six institutions, including several of the EcoHealthNet partner institutions. The workshop participants spent five days in Baltimore, MD, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health from June 13th through June 17^th, 2011.

Topics covered in the workshop included a field trip to collect ticks and mark GPS locations, an introduction to ArcGIS, spatial analyses, and mathematical modeling for disease research. Lecturers talked about their projects such as Health Map, healthSKAPES, monkeypox dynamics, hotspots modeling, and influenza research through the Fluscape project. You may download a copy of the agenda at the link below.

Quotes from students' evaluations for the EcoHealthNet 2011 Workshop:

• "I do not feel alone anymore in my passion for infectious diseases and public health in communities nobody has heard about. Thank you!"
• "The format of having someone in the field talk about their work then follow it up with a workshop on it was very effective. Also, having the down time and access not only to those in the workshop with us but the instructors as well was great. This workshop laid a great foundation for which to build on."
• "Really topnotch lecturers. Simulators were helpful, particularly the first GIS and ArcMap project."
• "The diverse backgrounds/cultures of students attending this conference had such a strong impact on me."
• "The session with the EcoHealth journal editors was fantastic!"
• "This was really one of the best workshops I have ever attended. Keep it up!"
• "This workshop is great, and I feel like I've gotten lots of ideas for improving my research. One of the best parts of a workshop like this is meeting so many other people (both presenters & students) who are working in this interdisciplinary field."
• "The diversity of the group (in terms of research interests and background) has been extremely valuable to all of us during the workshop and, I'm sure, in the future - perhaps one of best things I've taken from the workshop."

2011 Research Exchange

In the 2011 research exchange, 8 participants representing Australia, Canada, Chile, Spain, and the USA contributed to research initiatives in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, and the USA. Partner organizations include EcoHealth Alliance (EHA, New York), National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC, Madison), ICDDR,B (Dhaka), and East China Normal University (ECNU, Shanghai). Mentors for the research exchanges include Dr. Jonathan Epstein (EHA), Dr. Scott Wright (NWHC), Dr. Alessandra Nava (EHA), Dr. Shuyi Zhang (ECNU), and Dr. Ariful Islam (ICDDR,B).

Students are able to go out into the field to work with scientists on projects ranging from Nipah virus surveillance in Bangladesh to developing primers for avian influenza viruses in China to wildlife surveillance in Brazil to White Nose Syndrome in the United States. They work with hosting senior scientists to develop discrete projects to which they can apply their skills in the context of the broader program. Where possible, students will participate in data analysis and manuscript preparation and writing. Students are also invited to blog about their research experiences for the wildlife research blog on the EcoHealth Alliance website (http://www.ecohealthalliance.org/blog/).

Support for EcoHealthNet is provided by a National Science Foundation
Research Coordination Network Grant awarded to EcoHealth Alliance.

Publications