John Vinson, Post-doctoral 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.
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!
