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Alexa Sauvagere

Hello, my name is Alexa.

Expert: outbreak transmission dynamics

Researchers who study outbreak transmission dynamics can offer insight to the spread and containment of COVID-19 based on past emerging coronaviruses. UF biology professor Derek Cummings has investigated outbreak dynamics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in 2002, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) which emerged in 2012.

Coronavirus consultant

UF research professor John Lednicky can pull live viruses out of thin air—and grow them. His past decades of inquiry into coronaviruses have positioned him as one of UF’s go-to experts on the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 pathogen that is spreading globally.

Science scenes: Central and Eastern Africa

Ever wonder what scientists are up to behind the scenes, when they are not consumed with crunching data, or endlessly editing papers for publication? They just may be traveling in far-flung places — hunting for data and building relationships with the people and places they study. This is the second photo essay in an occasional series, Science Scenes, in which we invite you to explore how EPI's faculty and affiliate researchers work across the globe.

Chlamydia’s covert reproduction

UF researchers have resolved a two-decade old mystery centered upon how the bacteria Chlamydia divide and reproduce. Newly published results from the lab of Anthony Maurelli, a microbiologist in UF’s College of Public Health and Health Professions and the EPI, reveal that how these parasitic pathogens replicate diverges from a nearly universal norm.

Research day recap: a dengue duet

EPI's thirteenth annual research day took place yesterday, with nearly 150 poster presentations and two keynote speakers who both addressed the latest research in dengue, a growing global public health menace.

Caged: making food safer

An international interdisciplinary project led by EPI investigator Arie Havelaar seeks to identify bacterial causes of enteric dysfunction and chronic gut inflammation in Ethiopian children. By studying complex interactions between livestock and people, the project aims to identify reservoirs and exposure pathways by which Campylobacter bacteria colonize kids. But interventions are the ultimate goal.

Dengue double punch: combo controls

Dengue elimination may soon be within reach in Yucatán, Mexico if novel control methods are combined, according to a new study by UF researchers Ira Longini and Tom Hladish. The pair used 37 years of regional public health data to build a model which tested how unique combinations of dengue control measures perform.

Gut bacteria blocks and enhances virus

A new study published in Nature Microbiology reveals that bacteria present in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract either enhance or block murine norovirus infections. The startling findings expand our understanding of how the virus interacts with both its host immune system and the intestinal microbiome, which may one day be useful for developing an antiviral therapy.

Curing Mosquitoes, Eliminating Malaria

A new study authored by EPI researcher Rhoel Dinglasan, Ph.D., and colleagues, twists the narrative in the fight against malaria by treating mosquitoes. His team showed that feeding a known antimalarial drug — intended for humans — to infected Anopheles mosquitoes rendered them unable to transmit malaria parasites to new hosts.