The SEER Lab is interdisciplinary by design, including a broad range of skills and talents across our team of faulty, full-time research staff, postdocs, grads and undergrads. SEER Personnel are hired through and paid through Geography Department, but housed across the SEER Lab facilities at EPI and Geography. Graduate students are enrolled in Geography, but take course work from a number of departments across UF. Disease by their nature are complex and understanding these complexities requires a diverse team. Faculty associated with the lab have backgrounds in medical geography, veterinary epidemiology, wildlife ecology, molecular biology and evolution and microbiology. Staff and students have broad backgrounds as well.
Faculty
Dr. Jason K. Blackburn, SEER Lab Director, Professor, Medical Geography in Global Health, University Term Professor, University of Florida Research Professor (2023 – 2026), Graduate Coordinator for Geography
Dr. Ted Hadfield, Adjunct Professor of Geography, Courtesy Appointment Infectious Diseases and Pathology, UF Vet School
Full-time Research Staff
Mr. Andrew Bluhm, Biological Scientist II/BSL-2/BSL-3 Laboratory Specialist/Lab Manager
Current Postdoctoral Associates
Treenate Jiranantasak, BSL-3 microbiology and molecular biology, ELISA, WGS, pathogen diagnostics, characterization, and persistence.
Part-time Research Staff
Current PhD Students
SEER Lab is recruiting students currently in the Department of Geography’s Medical Geography in Global Health program.
Tan Luong, PhD Student. Tan is studying the spatio-temporal patterns of anthrax and livestock control for anthrax in Vietnam.
Morgan Metrailer, PhD Student. Morgan is working to link bioinformatics and geospatial analyses with a focus on bacterial pathogens including Bacillus anthracis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, and E. coli. These
Current MS Students
Current Undergrads
Undergraduate students are an integral part of SEER Lab’s training and research missions. Students has been involved as funded and unfunded positions and research credits can be taken by those students interested. Undergrads interested in working in the lab should email Dr. Jason Blackburn (jkblackburn@ufl.edu) with a statement of interest and the types of skills they’d like to learn in the lab. There are opportunities in our GIS Lab and our microbiology labs, email the faculty to learn more.
Aryn O’Dell. Aryn works on the commingling of livestock and wildlife in Kazakhstan as part of our studies on brucellosis.
Jaclyn Siu. Jaclyn is working on the spatiotemporal patterns of EVI related to specific outbreak locations in Texas and Montana.
SEER Lab Alumni
Previous Doctoral Students
Emily Dinh, PhD 2019. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Transmission Risk in North Florida free-Ranging Ranched and Wild White-Tailed Deer.
Michigan State Veterinary Office, State Medical Entomologist.
Anni Yang, PhD 2019. Multi-scale Modeling for Zoonosis Transmission: Exploring Two Indirectly Transmitted Pathogens in Southwestern Montana.
USDA/CSU Fort Collins, Postdoctoral Fellow in Wildlife modeling animal contact and disease transmission.
*Sheldon Waugh, PhD 2018. Investigating Spatial Dynamics of Zoonoses between Animal and Human Populations: A One-Health Perspective. *Sheldon was an Epidemiology student, but co-advised by Blackburn, with all data and resources to study brucellosis (2 of 3 studies in the dissertation) funded by Blackburn and SEER Lab.
Epidemiologist, US Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground. Currently with the US Census Bureau.
Ian T. Kracalik, PhD 2017. Impact of Zoonotic Diseases Control Policies: An Evaluation of Three Countries of the Former Soviet Union.
CDC Epidemiological Intelligence Service (2017 – 2019). Currently, Uniformed Officer in Public Health Service with the CDC-Atlanta.
Dawn Nekorchuk, PhD, Geography 2017. Modeling Indirect Transmission Disease Risk: Anthrax in Bison in Southwestern Montana.
Staff Medical Geography Scientist, SEER Lab through June 2017. Currently, Postdoctoral Associate, University of Oklahoma EcoGRAPH Group.
Alassane Barro, PhD, 2016. Integrating Geographical Information Systems and the Ecological Niche Modeling Framework to Characterize the Spatial Ecology of Anthrax in Australia.
Spatial Epidemiologist, State Department of Health, Texas (2015 – 2018). Currently with National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.
Lillian R. Morris, PhD, 2016. Wildlife Movement and Disease Risk: Anthrax Transmission in Montana.
Spatial Epidemiologist, State Department of Health, Washington.
Jocelyn C. Mullins, PhD, 2013. Combining Genetic Diversity and Spatio-temporal Data to Characterize the Spatial Ecolog of Anthrax Across Multiple Scales.
CDC Epidemiological Intelligence Service (2013 – 2015); Currently on faculty at St. Joseph’s School of Public Health in Connecticut and the State Public Health Veterinarian in Connecticut.
Previous Master’s Students
Morgan Metrailer, MS 2023. Morgan is studying the spatio-temporal and molecular characteristics of Bacillus anthracis in Northern Vietnam.
Current position: SEER Lab PhD student, Fall 2023.
Morgan Walker, MS 2019. Ungulate Use of Locally Infectious Zones (LIZs) in a Re-Emerging Anthrax Risk Area.
Then became SEER Lab TEAMS BioScientist II, Spatial Epidemiologist for Vietnam Projects. Currently with HealthLandscape as a spatial analyst.
Jake Hightower, MS, 2012. Examining the Distribution of Francisella tularensis, the Causative Agent of Tularemia, in Ukraine Using Ecological Niche Modeling.
Current position: Data Scientist at Universal Parks and Resorts in Florida.
Timothy Andrew Joyner, 2010. Ecological niche modeling of a zoonosis: A case study using anthrax outbreaks and climate change in Kazakhstan.
Current position: Geography faculty at Eastern Tennessee State University.
Ian T. Kracalik, MA (CSU Fullerton), 2009. Spatial and temporal analyses of anthrax: an exploratory retrospective and prospective examination of outbreaks in Kazakhstan.
Moved to UF as Research Program Coordinator for SEER Lab 2009 – 2015, PhD Student 2015-2017 (see above).
Previous Undergraduate Students
Lindsay Bell (undergrad) – Lindsay worked on the spatial patterns and ecological niche modeling of Bacillus anthracis in Kyrgyzstan for the CRDF Global project. After completing an MPH at USF, Lindsay is now Regional Health and Safety Manager at Solvay in Baltimore, MD.
Alexandra Campione (undergrad), Biology major working on orbivirus transmission dynamics using camera trap data on deer feeder use in captive/free range deer. Currently, Alex is pursuing an MPH at George Washington University.
Hannah Cutright (undergrad) – Hannah is now in Vet School at Auburn.
Ulrica Diamond (undergrad) – Ulrica was funded by NIH/MIDAS Project to work on the spatio-temporal patterns of cholera in Haiti. Ulrica is pursuing other interests in GIS in the private sector.
Kellyn Hooker. Kellen worked on the bioinformatics of Bacillus anthracis with an emphasis on the West African Group.
Max Morris – Geography/Environmental Sciences major working on spatio-temporal patterns of Culicoides insects on a deer ranch in North Florida. Max completed an MSc in Geography from Texas A&M University and now works in GIS for a US federal agency.
Allison Schlack, Honors thesis with Highest Honors, 2013. Allison completed an MPH at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and is currently a Data Visualization and Discovery Consultant at Slalom in New York.
Luke Smith – Luke was an undergrad prevet student at UF.
Research Staff Alum
Ms. Modeline Celestine, Camera trap data editing and analysis, NIH EEID Project