Hi! I'm Michelle.

I'm a PhD student in the Integrative Conservation
and Ecology program at the University of Georgia,
advised by Dr. John Drake and Dr. Courtney Murdock.

I am interested in the effects of urbanization on vector-borne disease dynamics and ecology. Specifically, my research is focused on how mosquito community ecology scales-up across a landscape to influence human risk of mosquito-borne disease. I approach this problem from an interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating the social, ecological, and political complexities characteristic of urban systems.

Current Projects

Urban microclimate and mosquito-borne disease

How does microclimate across an urban gradient alter disease dynamics of dengue in Aedes albopictus?

Context-dependent competition between mosquito species

Are the effects of interspecific competition between Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi dependent on temperature?

Social inequalities and disease burdens

How are inequalities in access to water manifest in spatial patterns of vector and water-borne disease burdens?

Publications

PDFs that are not open access (indicated by the icon) are available to download for individual use.
  • Land cover affects microclimate and temperature suitability for arbovirus transmission in an urban landscape
    Wimberly M, JK Davis, MV Evans, A Hess, PM Newberry, N Solano-Asamoah, and CC Murdock. 2020. PLoS NTD doi:10.1080/16549716.2020.1816044.


  • Reconciling model predictions with low reported cases of COVID-19 in Sub-saharan Africa: Insights from Madagascar
    Evans MV, A Garchitorena, RJL Rakotonanahary, JM Drake, B Andriamihaja, E Rajaonarifara, CN Ngonghala, B Roche, MH Bonds, J Rakotonirina. 2020. Global Health Action. doi:10.1080/16549716.2020.1816044.


  • Mosquito-virus interactions
    Reitmayer CM, MV Evans, KL Miazgowicz, PM Newberry, N Solano-Asamoah, B Tesla, and CC Murdock. 2020. In: J. M. Drake, M. Strand, M. Bonsall (Eds.), Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases.. Oxford Unversity Press.


  • Carry-over effects of the larval environment in mosquito-borne disease systems
    Evans MV, PM Newberry, CC Murdock. 2020. In: J. M. Drake, M. Strand, M. Bonsall (Eds.), Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases.. Oxford University Press. PDF.


  • Microclimate and larval habitat density predict adult Aedes albopictus abundance in urban areas
    Evans MV, CW Hintz, L Jones, J Shiau, N Solano, JM Drake, CC Murdock. 2019. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.19-0220


    • Spatio-temporal spillover risk of yellow fever in Brazil
      Kaul RB*, MV Evans*, CC Murdock, JM Drake. 2018. Parasites & Vectors. doi:10.1186/s13071-018-3063-6. * Contributed equally.


      • Carry-over effects of urban larval environments on the transmission potential of dengue-2 virus
        Evans MV, JC Shiau, N Solano, MA Brindley, JM Drake, CC Murdock. 2018. Parasites & Vectors. doi:10.1186/s13071-018-3013-3


      • Anticipating emerging mosquito-borne flaviviruses in the USA: What comes after Zika?
        Evans MV, CC Murdock, JM Drake. 2018. Trends in Parasitology. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2018.02.010. PDF.


      • Fine-scale variation in microclimate across an urban landscape shapes variation in mosquito population dynamics and the potential of Aedes albopictus to transmit arboviral disease
        Murdock CC, MV Evans, TD McClanahan, KL Miazgowicz, B Tesla. 2017. PLoS NTD 11(5):e0005640 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005640


      • Detecting the impact of temperature on transmission of Zika, dengue and chikungunya using mechanistic models
        Mordecai E, J Cohen, MV Evans, P Gudapati, LR Johnson, CA Lipp, K Miazgowicz, CC Murdock, JR Rohr, SJ Ryan, V Savage, M Shocket, AS Ibarra, MB Thomas, DP Weikel. 2017. PLoS NTD 11(4):e0005568 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005568


      • Data-driven identification of potential Zika virus vectors
        Evans MV, TA Dallas, BA Han, CC Murdock, JM Drake. 2017. eLife 6:e22053 doi:10.7554/eLife.22053

News

2020

  • Defended my doctoral dissertation, An Integrative Approach to Mosquito-Borne Disease in Urban Areas. PDF and video coming soon!
  • Joined the Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases COVID-19 working group. See our website for information on the projects.
  • Presented at the Graduate Student Symposium on work done in collaboration with Pivot, applying precision health mapping to Ifanadiana health district in Madagascar. Check out the preprint.

2019

  • Began our field project on urbanization and mosquito ecology in Bangalore, in collaboration with Dr. Shomen Mukherjee at Azim Premji University and Dr. Kavita Isvaran at the Indian Institute of Science
  • Interned at Pivot, a health system strengthening NGO based in Ranomafana, Madagascar. Results of our project on the environmental drivers of under-5 diarrheal disease coming soon!
  • Presented on the complexity of urban socio-ecological systems and why they require integrative approaches at the Symposium on Integrative Conservation. Slides here: ()

2018

  • Attended the MPE 2013+ Workshop on Global Change and Vector-borne Disease and presented on work predicting yellow fever spillover in Brazil. Slides here: ()
  • Presented a poster at the Center for Ecology of Infectious Disease's Symposium on the Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases on our work predicting the spatio-temporal dynamics of yellow fever. Check it out! ()
  • Presented at the 2018 Odum School of Ecology Graduate Student Symposium on my work on mosquito community composition across an urban landscape and was awarded second place PhD presentation. Take a look at my slides here! ()

2017

  • Participated in a symposium on microclimate and insects at the Entomological Society of America meeting in Denver, CO
  • Gave a talk on our mosquito larval habitat surveys at the Georgia Mosquito Control Association Meeting. Slides here! ()
  • Presented on the carry-over effects of larval microclimate on adult vector competence at the Ecological Society of America meeting in Portland, Oregon
  • Won Third Place in the PhD category at the 2017 Odum School of Ecology Graduate Student Symposium, for a talk on my summer field work. Take a look at my slides! ()
  • Presented on a collaboration with Atlanta's branch of The Nature Conservancy exploring urban biodiversity potential in Atlanta with my ICON cohort

2016

  • Attended the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and presented a poster () on my summer field work
  • Presented a talk () at the Annual Georgia Mosquito Control Association Meeting
  • Presented a poster at the Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases Meeting. Check out the pdf!
  • Awarded an Odum Small Grant to conduct larval and adult mosquito surveys in Athens, GA
  • Awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
  • Presented a talk at the Symposium for Integrative Conservation. You can watch it here.
  • Won Best Rapid Fire Talk at the Odum School of Ecology Graduate Student Symposium

2015