Amy S. Turmelle
Advisor: Gary McCracken
Research Interests
I am interested in the ecological and evolutionary factors that influence the emergence and persistence of disease, particularly rabies virus, in natural populations of bats. Bats have recently been recognized as natural reservoirs and vectors of several emerging infectious diseases, but sparse literature exists on the ecology of infection and immune response in wild populations of bats. From an evolutionary perspective, I am interested in how historic and current genetic structure of populations across the landscape impacts disease epizootiology.
To better manage disease in light of wildlife and public health, I combine field and experimental approaches to develop theoretical and analytical models of disease epizootiology in natural populations of bats.
Broadly, my research is focused on species level and comparative biogeography, phylogenetics, epizootiology, immunology, and parasitism. I use bats as a model system, as they are an incredibly diverse group and serve as key players in health of ecosystems globally.
Recent Publications
- Jackson, F.R., A.S. Turmelle, D.M. Farino, R. Franka, G.F. McCracken, and C.E. Rupprecht. In Press. Experimental rabies virus infection of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
- Dimitrov, D.T., T.G. Hallam. C.E. Rupprecht, A.S. Turmelle, and G.F. McCracken. 2007. Integrative models of bat rabies immunology, epizootiology, and disease demography. Journal of Theoretical Biology 245:498-509.
- Russell, A.L, A.S. Turmelle, V.A. Brown, and G.F. McCracken. 2005. Extremely variable di- and tetranucleotide microsatellite loci in Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis). Molecular Ecology Notes 5:669-671.
Contact Information
Amy S. Turmelle
Ph.D. Student
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
569 Dabney Hall
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-1610
Phone:
(865) 974-6188
Fax: (865) 974-3067
Email: aturmell@utk.edu