To understand the evolutionary biology of infectious diseases, we need to study both within-host (e.g., immunological) and between-host (e.g., transmission-related) processes. Why? We must study both scales because we know that parasites must succeed on both scales if they are going to spread and persist in host populations. The logic is as follows. A parasite […]

There is growing recognition that the development of new, evolutionarily robust treatments and interventions against infectious disease requires a better understanding of the dynamics of parasites and pathogens inside their hosts. While progress in microbiology and immunology has continued to unravel complex molecular interactions between microbes and their hosts, population biologists have begun deploying new […]

Multiple colored variants of a strain of Vibrio cholerae (a causative agent of cholera in human hosts) co-inoculated on glass. The variants express 3 different fluorescent proteins that enable visualization of the contribution of each to biofilm formation. One optical slice at the base of a biofilm is shown in two of these images, while […]

These monkeys host arboviruses as well as the primate malaria species Plasmodium knowlesi which can also infect humans.  Key determinants of whether macaques and people share parasites include proximity of human habitation to the forest, the location and feeding preferences of mosquito vectors, and relative susceptibility of the host species.  Zoonotic reservoirs like these can […]

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