Sit-and-Wait Pathogens: Disentangling The Role of Environmental Pathogen Reservoirs In Infectious Disease Dynamics

This project is designed to address issues involving the role of environmental pathogen reservoirs in infectious disease dynamics by investigating mechanisms that underlie why sources of environmental transmission can have such severe consequences to hosts. Specifically, the team of researchers will investigate how the environmental pathogen reservoir contributes to transmission and host impacts for snake fungal disease (SFD), an emerging disease caused by the fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophidiicola. This project will consist of laboratory (experimental) and field work to provide critical insight into how environmental pathogen persistence contributes to disease dynamics.