Jessica Rowland
Graduate Student
Co-advised with Dr. Song Liang
Environmental and Global Health
Phone: (352) 273-9039
Email: jessrowland [at] ufl.edu
Degrees
BS - Kansas State University, 2006
Background and Research Interests
Jess is a Midwesterner from Kansas who developed a passion for virology as a young girl. After receiving her BS in microbiology from Kansas State University in 2006, she followed her dream and moved to Connecticut to work as a microbiologist at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. While at Plum Island, her research focused on diagnostic assay development and validation, bioforensics, molecular virology, and pathogen discovery of novel animal viruses.
In 2012, she joined the Department of Environmental and Global Health at the University of Florida to begin her PhD in One Health. The One Health paradigm aims to merge perspectives from human, animal, and environmental health to solve complex global health problems. While working as a research associate in the Pulliam lab, Jess became interested in learning about infectious disease dynamics and modeling. She is a Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense (FAZD) fellowship recipient and worked with Dr. Pulliam on evaluating the risk of zoonotic vector-borne diseases to invade novel regions.
In the summer of 2014, she completed an internship at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and became interested in the impact of animal diseases on the livelihoods of human populations. While at FAO, Jess researched peste des petits ruminants (PPR), a lethal viral disease of small ruminants. Subsequently, the use of mathematical modeling to assist in the global control and eradication effort became the focus of her dissertation research.
After completing her PhD, she plans to work in the field of international capacity building, with regards to public health infrastructure and diagnostic laboratories. Ultimately, Jess hopes to combine her passion for research and working with people to be on the forefront of the One Health Initiative.