Research Feature

The Emerging Pathogens Institute’s annual Research Day event celebrates pathogens research and the people who work in this critical academic space. After three years of meeting virtually, the event was held in person at the Reitz Union on Feb. 16, 2023 on the University of Florida’s campus. Researchers and students exhibited 123 abstracts and posters that probed pathogens and infectious diseases topics spanning from lab research to field investigations and bioinformatic analyses.

University of Florida researchers are refining wastewater surveillance techniques—a public health tool dating to the 1940s—to monitor cities, neighborhoods, and individual buildings for traces of COVID-19, fentanyl, and pesticides.

UF students and researchers address the links between intestinal pathogens, livestock, and children’s gut health.

From land to sea, EPI’s Research Day keynote talks featured recent leaps in pathogen research affecting people and the aquatic animal source foods we consume.

UF researchers created a model projecting how various omicron-driven surge scenarios may unfold in Florida over the next few months.

UF professor of marine ecology Donald Behringer may not have set out to become a leader in the growing field of marine disease ecology, but with each new discovery he grew into one.

A UF professor deploys unusual methods in the field to investigate bacteria that infect tomato and pepper crops.

A malaria vaccine designed by UF professor Rhoel Dinglasan is expected to advance to phase 1 clinical trials, thanks to new funding. The vaccine is designed differently from all others: It immunizes mosquitoes via people.

Rethink testing. New research shows how to reduce COVID-19 quarantine times by almost half simply by testing on exit from quarantine instead of entry.

A molecular biologist cultures an ecological perspective of biothreats in his new role at the Emerging Pathogens Institute.