Sarah Zohdy, Professor

Ph.D., University of Helsinki, 2012

Disease and vector ecology, One Health/global health, and human–wildlife health

Office: LS671

Research Summary:

In an era of rapid global change, understanding how biological, environmental, and social systems interact is vital to uncovering the forces that shape biodiversity conservation and planetary health. Our lab investigates the primary drivers of health and disease across changing landscapes. Specifically, we examine how human activities, such as global trade, urbanization, and land-use change, disrupt pathogen transmission pathways and alter ecosystem resilience. To map these connections, our research covers a diverse array of organisms, including lemurs, livestock, free-roaming domestic animals, rodents, armadillos, and arthropod vectors. We focus heavily on mosquito vectors, which sit directly at the interface of human and animal health. These vectors have shaped human history, driven wildlife extinctions, and continuously expanded their range alongside human movement.

While our work is global, much of our research takes place in Madagascar and the surrounding Indian Ocean islands, which serve as natural laboratories for studying island biogeography, invasive species, and disease dynamics. By combining field and molecular data with innovative tool development, we uncover core ecological interactions to inform action. Our ultimate goal is to address the underlying ecological and evolutionary drivers of disease, and in doing so, develop, guide, and scale actionable interventions that protect both human and ecological communities.