Dr. Courtney Murdock has been studying the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions for over 17 years. She began her career with a bachelor’s of science in Biology and a minor in Spanish literature at the University of Michigan in 2002. She then received her Ph.D. in Resource Ecology and Management with a specialization in disease ecology from the School of Natural Resources and Program in the Environment (now the School for Environment and Sustainability) at the University of Michigan in 2009. She continued on as a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Biology and Entomology and the Centers for Infectious Disease Dynamics from 2009-2014. Dr. Murdock then accepted an assistant professor position at the University of Georgia in the Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Odum School of Ecology in 2014. She has recently become an associate professor in the Department of Entomology at Cornell (May 2020). Murdock’s research group applied ecological and evolutionary theory to better understand host-parasite interactions, how parasites impact host fitness, and disease transmission dynamics. In particular, her group is interested in how changes in climate, land use, and other environmental variables influence the transmission and control of mosquito-borne diseases (human malaria and arboviruses like dengue and Zika). Her group utilizes a variety of frameworks to address questions in the above themes, such as carefully controlled laboratory experiments, semi-field and field experiments, and mathematical modeling.