Educational Programs
ESI Summer Fellowship Program
We provide small grants ($2,000 to $5,000) to University of Illinois graduate students to foster collaborative and interdisciplinary research that compliments initiative objectives. Fifteen fellows have been supported over the past three years, including:
Jennifer Duggan, Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology
Effects of urbanization & agricultural intensification on patterns of parasitism in Franklin’s ground squirrels
Shannon Fredebaugh, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
The ecology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in terrestrial wildlife and domestic cats
Carly Hill, Institute for Genomic Biology
Coral health: the ratio of zooxanthellae / mucocytes under changing environmental conditions
Emily Jewell, Pathobiology
Toxoplasma gondii infection in wildlife: the role of domestic cats
Rodolfo Martinez-Mota, Anthropology
Effects of habitat disturbance on stress & parasitism in howler monkeys in southern Mexico
Jane Massina, Geography
West Nile Virus, neighborhoods & risk behavior in the greater Chicago region
Abigail Mathewson, Public Health and Veterinary Medicine
Eco-epidemiology of emerging African poxviruses
Krista Milich, Anthropology
Effects of deforestation on stress & reproduction in red colobus monkeys in western Uganda
Imelda Moise, Geography
Spatial analysis of the impact of small-scale aquaculture on malaria in Mwinilunga District, Zambia
Noriko Nakamura, Microbiology
Environmental stressors on vaginal ecosystems
Johanna Salzer, Epidemiology
Ecology of emerging poxviruses in Africa
Kevin Reader, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Community response to forest disturbance by bark beetles in Colorado
Jennifer Rydzewski, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
An ecological approach to evaluating Lyme disease risk in Illinois
Emily Wheeler, Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology
Sources & consequences of gastrointestinal biota in free nesting passerines
Emily Wisseman, Institute for Genomic Biology
Anthropogenic aspects of coral black band disease
Envirovet
The Envirovet Program in Wildlife & Ecosystem Health was developed by its present director, Dr. Val Beasley (Veterinary Biosciences), with the goal of creating a force of scientists and health professionals with knowledge, skills & expertise to identify & solve environmental problems that affect the health & well-being of people, domestic animals, wildlife & ecosystems. The program offers a 7-week Summer Institute of comprehensive classroom, field & laboratory experiences that stresses problem solving. Since its inception, Envirovet Summer Institute has educated over 275 health professionals from 33 nations. Envirovet is actively establishing other regional programs around the world.
Ecosystem Health and Sustainable Agriculture
The UIUC-based Great Lakes University Program has partnered with the Baltic University Programme to develop a graduate-level curriculum integrating concepts from sustainable agriculture, land use, rural development, ecosystem health and management for use at universities and colleges throughout the Great Lakes region of North America and the Baltic region of Northern Europe (http://www.balticuniv.uu.se/ehsa/). By design, this program provides understanding, answers, and expertise to solve the most poorly-attended chronic and emerging environmental problems in these complimentary regions.
Improving Biodiversity Conservation & Health in East Africa Through International Training in Infectious Disease Epidemiology
This "Partners-in-Training" program between the University of Illinois & Makerere University, Uganda has three components: 1) development & implementation of an intensive semester-long training for Ugandan, Kenyan, & Tanzanian students, scientists, & clinicians in epidemiology at the University of Illinois; 2) development & implementation of a graduate / professional course in molecular epidemiology at Makerere University, 3) establishment of an infectious disease epidemiology laboratory at Makerere University for research & diagnostics.