A top-ranked Research Competitiveness Subprogram proposal by Dr. Scott Duke-Sylvester of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will explore contemporary epidemiological patterns in viral pathogens by combining ecological and evolutionary perspectives, often viewed as operating on vastly different time scales. The goal of the study and the combined approach is to explore patterns that neither perspective can account for individually. This may form a foundation for subsequent projects focusing on an interface between ecology and evolution.
