The Evolutionary Emergence of Infectious Diseases (EEID) laboratory pursues multidisciplinary, translational research in a variety of areas whose unifying theme is that contact between humans and nonhuman primates (NHP), both contemporary and within an evolutionary time frame, provides a context for the emergence of infectious agents.
Our principle areas of interest include:
- Evolution and emergence of simian retroviruses in Asia.
- Evolutionary history of Plasmodium vivax and related macaque malaria parasite populations.
- Characterizing the Picornavirus pathogen landscape among NHP in Asia.
- Developing and optimizing an array of diagnostic techniques to detect mycobacterial infection in various NHP and human populations.
- Describing the genetic diversity within and between NHP species that influences response to infection.
- Evaluating the potential of NHP as sentinels for toxic exposures in human populations.
The EEID lab conducts active research in eight countries on four continents, with a focus on South and Southeast Asia. EEID scientists gather biological samples as well as behavioral data from humans and NHP in areas where they overlap. These data are analyzed in collaboration with multiple specialized laboratories around the world and synthesized in order to draw conclusions about patterns of cross species transmission of infectious agents. Our approach incorporates an evolutionary perspective into understanding how changing patterns of interspecies interaction lead to the emergence of disease.