John Vinson, Postdoctoral fellow ​
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John joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow in January 2023. He is working on developing mathematical models of the potential spread of Chronic Wasting Disease across a landscape using newly collected contact data from camera collars on white-tailed deer. John has a B.S. in biological sciences and mathematics from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in ecology from the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. As a mathematical biologist, he is interested in the community ecology of parasite transmission. John’s previous work has focused on (bio)diversity-disease relationships in vector-borne disease systems, land-use change impacts on parasite transmission, and alternative transmission routes for Ebola and Guinea worm.
Michael Egan, Postdoctoral fellow
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Spatial Wildlife Ecology Lab (SWEL). Broadly, I am interested in the spatial and behavioral ecology of animals and the implications these fields have for applied topics such as conservation, management, and wildlife disease transmission. Specifically, my current research focuses on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with a particular emphasis on the spatial ecology of deer through the lens of GPS data. Currently, I am working on two main areas of research. First, as part of a large team studying SARS-CoV-2 across multiple states across the U.S., I am using a novel application of scale-integrated resource selection functions (RSFs) to evaluate the resource associations of deer-to-deer contacts, predict where contacts occur, and determine the risk of contact between deer and humans. Second, I am working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to estimate deer populations from harvest data using novel Bayesian models.
Leyna Stemle, Postdoctoral fellow
Leyna joined the lab as a Postdoctoral Fellow in January 2025 on a grant with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). She is looking at White-tailed Deer movement and behavior, specifically in their interactions with roads. Her work will look at deer-vehicle collisions (DVC) in Illinois and hopefully provide insight into what deer and road related factors influence road crossings and DVC. As an Ecologist, she is interested in animal movement, geographic information systems, conservation, habitat use, wildlife survivorship, and habitat/wildlife management. More specifically, she is interested in how we can use movement and habitat use data to improve management practices and policies for wildlife. Leyna has a BS in Marine Biology from Florida Southern College and a PhD in Biology from the Univeristy of Miami where she studied movement, habitat use, and demography of reptiles and amphibians. In between degrees she also did a Fulbright Award in Ghana, studying sea turtle and artisanal fisheries interactions. When Leyna isn’t deep into a research project, she is hiking, camping, doing yoga, reading, or spending time with her two rescued cats.
Tadao Kishimoto, Research Scientist​
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Hello, my name is Tadao, and I joined the SWEL and CWRL in August 2022 as a MS student and I am now a research scientist in the lab. I love connecting with nature through outdoor recreational activities, particularly rock climbing, trail running, and hiking. While it is exciting to be part of a rapidly growing outdoors community, non-consumptive recreation has consequences on animal behavior, physiology, and demography. My MS project examine the impacts of mountain biking trail construction and use on white-tailed deer behavior using a before-after-control-impact (BACI) design. My hope for this study is to help land managers make informed decisions during trail development, mitigating negative impacts of recreators on wildlife. Happy trails!
