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Affiliated Faculty

Auston Marmaduke Kilpatrick
  • Title
    • Professor
  • Division Physical & Biological Sciences Division
  • Department
    • Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department
  • Affiliations Environmental Studies Department
  • Phone
    831-459-5070
  • Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • CSC Coastal Biology Building, 252
    • 153 Coastal Biology Building
    • 130 McAllister Way
    • Santa Cruz, CA 95060
  • Office Hours By appointment
  • Mail Stop CBB/EE Biology
  • Mailing Address
    • 130 McAllister Way
    • Santa Cruz CA 95060
  • Faculty Areas of Expertise Conservation, Disease and Immunity, Ecology, Mathematical Modeling, Population Biology, Population Dynamics, Biomedical Sciences, Endangered Species
  • Courses Disease Ecology (BIOE 149), Ecology (BIOE 107), Experimental Design and Data Analysis (BIOE 186/286/CSP 241), Mathematical Modeling And Data Science In Ecology And Evolution (BIOE 139/239), Advanced Organismal Biology (BIOE 200B), Undergraduate Research In Ecology And Evolutionary Biology (BIOE 183), Models in Ecology and Evolution (BIOE 295)
  • Advisees, Grad Students, Researchers , Nikka Malakooti, Billy Gardner

Summary of Expertise

Disease Ecology
Population Biology
Conservation

Research Interests

Ecology of Infectious Diseases & Population Biology

My research unites theory and empirical work to address basic and applied questions on the ecology of infectious diseases as well as population biology, evolution, climate, behavior, genetics, and conservation, and I would be excited to develop collaborations and advise graduate students in any of these areas. A key aim is to understand the underlying drivers of pathogen transmission and the impacts on host populations. My general research philosophy is to begin each project by developing a model of the system to generate hypotheses and then test these hypotheses by gathering empirical data. My current research can be divided into three general areas:

* Local determinants of pathogen transmission,
* The impact of disease on animal populations, and
* The spread of pathogens to new regions.

Much of my current work in disease ecology is focused on West Nile virus, a mosquito-transmitted pathogen that currently causes thousands of human cases each year, as well as affecting millions of animals. However, I also work on several other pathogen systems including chytridiomycosis, Lyme disease, Brucellosis, and avian influenza.

Biography, Education and Training

B.A. Philosophy, University of California, Los Angeles 1995
B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles  1995
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1997
Ph.D. Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 2003
Senior Research Scientist, Ecohealth Alliance (Consortium for Conservation Medicine) 2003-2008

Assistant Professor, UCSC 2008-2013

Associate Professor, UCSC 2014-2018

Professor, UCSC 2019-present