Kacey Ernst

Dr. Ernst is an infectious disease epidemiologist. Her primary research area is the investigation of how human-environment interactions at multiple spatial scales influence the establishment of disease vectors and transmission of disease. She has conducted field investigations in western Kenya, Ghana, Indonesia, and Mexico and locally in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on topics ranging from developing an understanding of how climate change may influence disease dynamics and how to develop community-based strategies to improve resilience in the face of increasing disease risk. Recently she has been investigating how extreme weather events may lead to increases in mosquito borne disease transmission and how micro-scale landuse drives the establishment and proliferation of mosquito vectors. She has a significant interest in working with community members and policy makers to identify integrative strategies to prevent and control their transmission. She is currently the co-lead of the Bridging Biodiversity and Conservation Science initiative in AIR. She is also a member of CCASS.