Spatial data science workshop for Peruvian scientists and students. Hosted at Stanford University, November 2022
I have a deep and longstanding commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion both within and outside academia. It is of fundamental importance in my research (e.g., in studying the drivers of infectious diseases that entrench poverty and impede economic development in underserved communities and developing countries), my teaching (e.g., teaching principles of global and planetary health to understand barriers to equitable healthcare access and outcomes, and how colonial histories have influenced modern day health and environmental challenges), and mentorship (e.g., through recruiting and providing opportunities for diverse students, and working closely with the UCSB McNair Scholars Program). Through these concrete actions I am taking as a teacher, researcher and mentor, I hope to contribute to improved access and inclusion of underrepresented groups in academia. The diversity of ideas and perspectives gained from a more diverse and inclusive academic environment is needed now more than ever to address the environmental and societal challenges we face.
Public Outreach via Popular News Media
I routinely interview with local to national and international media and news outlets, including National Geographic, the BBC, Now This and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, in order to communicate the science of infectious disease ecology and epidemiology to a wider audience. See lab news for more.
Google Earth Engine and spatial data science workshop
I designed and co-developed content for a Google Earth Engine and spatial data science workshop that we offered in November of 2022 for a team of Peruvian epidemiologists, veterinarians and disease ecologists. The workshop was designed for capacity building in Peru, and cross cultural exchange, and was supported in part by our NSF EEID grant (#2011147) in collaboration with UCSB, Stanford and Universidad Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
Here I am walking through some code for data processing in the Peruvian Amazon, to pair with field data collected by the team in villages, towns and cities across land use gradients in Madre de Dios, Peru (Right). |
UCSB McNair Scholars Program and Undergraduate Mentorship
I have served as the research mentor for UCSB McNair Scholar undergraduate students, and have, or am currently serving as an undergraduate student research mentor to dozens of UCSB undergraduates majoring in Environmental Studies, Statistics and Data Science, and Ecology Departments at UCSB. If you are interested in undergraduate opportunities in the lab, please reach out!
I was also a graduate student mentor for the UCSB McNair Scholars Program from Spring of 2014 to Winter of 2016. I worked especially closely with STEM students in the program, the mission of which is to:
"prepare qualified undergraduates for entrance to a PhD program in all fields of study. The goals of the program are to increase the number of first-generation, low-income and/or underrepresented students in PhD programs, and ultimately, to diversify the faculty in colleges and universities across the country."
I was also a graduate student mentor for the UCSB McNair Scholars Program from Spring of 2014 to Winter of 2016. I worked especially closely with STEM students in the program, the mission of which is to:
"prepare qualified undergraduates for entrance to a PhD program in all fields of study. The goals of the program are to increase the number of first-generation, low-income and/or underrepresented students in PhD programs, and ultimately, to diversify the faculty in colleges and universities across the country."
Stanford RISE Summer Internship Program
The Stanford Raising Interest in Science and Engineering (RISE) Summer Internship Program is designed for bright, low income high school students, most of whom will be the first in their families to attend college. Students from groups historically under-represented in science and engineering are especially encouraged and given priority to participate. In the summer of 2017, I mentored a local bay area high school student (Virginia Parra, who went on to study at UC Davis) through this program on a disease ecology research project on the effects of agricultural land use and land use change in the Amazon basin on vector-borne disease transmission.
UCSB Research Mentorship Program
Through the Research Mentorship Program, I mentored two high school students, Jose Guerrero (Who went on to become a Gates Millenium Scholar and UCLA undergraduate) and Vivian Yang (who went on to study at UC Berkeley), on independent summer research projects over the summer of 2013. I believe it is critically important to expose students to the scientific research process early in their academic careers in order to recruit the brightest and best talent, as well as diversify the student body in STEM disciplines in higher education. This program provided a fantastic opportunity to do so.
Worster Award for Graduate/Undergraduate Research
I received two Worster Awards for graduate/undergraduate research as a PhD student, along with two fantastic undergraduate students: Tyler Toth in summer 2013, and David Hyon in summer 2015. Through these awards, I was able to work closely with bright undergraduate students to introduce them to the scientific research process, and coach them through summer research projects. Tyler Toth went on to study medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, and David completed his undergraduate studies in Biology in the College of Creative Studies at UCSB and has continued to be involved in lab research as a RA, working on diverse projects from Lyme disease ecology in California, to West Nile virus in the San Joaquin Valley and remote sensing and earth observation to support vector-borne disease research across the Americas.
UC NRS Advisory Committee
I served as the graduate student advisor to the UCSB Natural Reserve System Committee from 2014-2016. The UC Natural Reserve System has been integral to my research, and I got involved with this committee to make sure it continues to serve as both a natural laboratory for graduate and undergraduate research, as well as a classroom for UC students and the public more broadly.