Principal Investigator

Chris Barker, Ph.D.,  is an associate professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. He studies the epidemiology and ecology of mosquito-transmitted viruses, and he directs California’s central diagnostic laboratory and related data management systems for surveillance of mosquito-borne viruses. Chris has MS degrees in epidemiology and entomology and a PhD in medical entomology.  @TheBarkerLab

 

Graduate Students 

Olivia Winokur is an NSF GRFP fellow and Entomology PhD student at UC Davis where she studies how ecological factors affect mosquito-borne virus transmission. Olivia obtained her B.S. from Cornell University where she studied dog heartworm transmission and mosquito flight tone variation. Olivia enjoys traveling, backpacking, playing pub trivia, and is passionate about promoting diversity in STEM and the outdoors through GOALS. @oliviawinokur

Sarah Abusaa is a PhD student in the Epidemiology Graduate Group at UC Davis. Her research focuses on predicting the spread of the invasive mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. She obtained her MPH from Yale University, where she studied factors affecting household-level variation in the abundance of container-breeding mosquitoes on the island of Montserrat.

Ania Kawiecki, DVM  is a PhD student in the Epidemiology Graduate Group at UC Davis. She has a DVM from Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, and a MS in Virology from Louisiana State University. Ania has worked with our team in Iquitos, Peru, and her dissertation will focus on the epidemiology of dengue and Zika viruses.

 

 

Undergraduate Students

 

Surveillance and Laboratory Team

Ying Fang manages the DART Surveillance Laboratory, where mosquito and bird specimens are tested for viral infection using molecular and traditional biological methods to support surveillance and research on mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses.  Ying also evaluates new laboratory methodology, ensures quality control of work within the DART BSL-3 and other laboratories, curates the DART virus reference collection, and supervises and trains personnel.

 

Sandra Garcia is a Lab Assistant in the DART Surveillance Laboratory. She has a wide range of laboratory skills and tests mosquito and bird samples from mosquito control agencies throughout California using RT-PCR, plaque assay, and EIA.

 

 

 

 

Sunny An is a Laboratory Assistant who manages the insectary and a wide range of mosquito colonies. She holds a BS in genetic engineering from Korea University.

 

 

 

 

Computer Programming Team

Jody Simpson is the lead programmer, database manager, and system administrator for the CalSurv Gateway and other computing services hosted at DART. He supports a wide range of research and surveillance projects, primarily in California and Iquitos, Peru.

 

 

 

 

Mathew Leland is a software engineer on the CalSurv Gateway team.  He utilizes the huge amount of data stored within the CalSurv Gateway platform to create informative and fun maps and visualizations.

 

 

 

Shawn Ranck is a software engineer on the CalSurv Gateway team. He develops application features and services for the program’s web-based users.

 

 

 

Kurt Johnson is a software engineer. He works with the CalSurv Gateway team to maintain the website, develop functionality, and onboard the growing user base.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manuel Beja da Costa, an electrical engineer looking for a career change, is currently working in Iquitos, Peru. While his main focus is the management and improvement of our project’s data portal, Manuel also dedicates some of his time to resolving the various technical difficulties that occur both in the office and in the field.