Team | Risa Pesapane

Principal Investigator

Risa Pesapane (she/her) is a broadly trained disease ecologist who studies parasites and pathogens in both human and animal populations by leveraging tools from community ecology, molecular ecology, landscape ecology, microbiology, entomology, and epidemiology. She earned a PhD in ecology with a designated emphasis in the biology of vector-borne disease from UC Davis, an MS in wildlife science with a focus on disease ecology from Virginia Tech, and simultaneous undergraduate degrees in wildlife science and biology from Virginia Tech. Risa is a vocal advocate for interdisciplinarity, One Health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. At home, she is mom to two young children as well as several pets and enjoys a myriad of home and garden projects with her partner on their small homestead.

Email: pesapane.1@osu.edu

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Graduate Students

Ningzhu Bai obtained a B.S. in Animal Biosciences, with a minor in Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife, from The Ohio State University in 2020. She defended her Master’s in 2022 and is now pursuing a PhD in the Environment and Natural Resources Graduate Program (ENRGP). She is interested in the role of birds in the ecology of tick-borne disease.

Ashani Hangawatte, received a BSc specializing in Zoology with a focus on Wildlife Conservation and Molecular Biology from The Open University of Sri Lanka. She is currently a graduate student in Environment and Natural Resources, PhD program at the Ohio State University. Prior to enrolling in the graduate program, she worked on fish ecology, captive sloth bear behavior, marine mammal genetic diversity, and urban wild feline ecology and diseases in Sri Lanka. Her passion is to learn disease ecology in order to apply the knowledge to wildlife conservation. In her free time she loves to spend time on animal welfare, traveling, hiking, and SCUBA diving.

DaZané Cole is a veterinary student at Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine where she also pursuing a Comparative Biomedical Sciences Master’s degree in the combined DVM/MS program. DaZané received a BS in Biology and BA in psychology with a minor in chemistry from Sweet Briar College. DaZané is currently investigating bovine anaplasmosis via analysis of ticks from Ohio livestock where she is characterizing the species and genotypes present in cattle herds. DaZané is interested in studying zoonotic disease and pathology where she hopes to apply her findings in clinical and translational medicine.

Morgan Shields completed here DVM at The Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2024 and is now finishing a Comparative Biomedical Sciences Master’s degree in the combined DVM/MS program. Morgan is interested in zoo/aquatic animal medicine and research, animal disaster relief/marine rescue, and service in the U. S. Army Vet Corps. Morgan graduated from Otterbein University with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She is especially passionate about ocean health and her favorite animal is the Amazon River Dolphin. For the 2021 Summer Research Program with the PPE Lab, Morgan studied the survival and control of nasopulmonary mites in captive facilities to guide husbandry protocols that improve marine mammal health. For the 2022 Summer Research Program, she studied the potential role of cetacean lungworm in the transmission of Brucella. When she is not studying, Morgan enjoys SCUBA diving, horseback riding, backpacking, and rock climbing.

Afsoon Sabet is a PhD student in the Entomology Department at OSU co-advised by Dr. Sam Ward, where she hopes to further develop her skills and interests while studying tick dynamics and ecology. She received a B.S. in Biology from West Virginia University, where she worked with Dr. Rita Rio and the tsetse fly, investigating the role of DNMT2 in epigenetics in Glossina morsitans. From there, she proceeded to attend Mississippi State University where she got her master’s degree in Entomology under Drs. Jerome Goddard and Samuel F. Ward, studying the bed bug and its capacity as a vector of disease.

Benjamin Zeiger is an M.S. student in Environment and Natural Resources. He received a B.S. in Evolution and Ecology from Ohio State University in 2019, and has worked in fish husbandry, cyanobacteria culturing, mite archiving and microscopy, and wild osprey reintroduction. After working with the PPE Lab as a research associate, Benjamin joined as a student to investigate arthropod disease vectors on agriculture properties. He is interested in interspecies disease systems, particularly regarding disease transmission and management. In his free time, he likes to go hiking, biking, birdwatching, or sailing.

Liz Foley is a PhD student in Environment and Natural Resources. She received her M.S. in Entomology from the University of Nebraska in 2012 and has since filled several Public Health and Entomology positions with the US Air Force. Her focus is medical entomology with an emphasis in ticks and mites. Liz’s work is currently focused on vector-borne disease and impacts to the Department of Defense. In her free time, she tries to keep up with her two teenage kids and volunteers as a Master Gardener for Montgomery County. Aside from the human babies, Liz has two dogs, a leopard gecko named Gaga and hundreds of houseplants.

Syd Wilson is a PhD student in the school of the Environment and Natural Resources where her research is primarily focused on improving understanding and management of the invasive longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Entomology from the University of California Riverside, where her research experiences ranged from agriculture to vector control. Syd’s long-term goals in research are to further study arthropod vectors of disease and novel means of control, especially where these intersect with agriculture.

Professional Students

Tahirah Jones is a 2nd year Master of Public Health student studying veterinary public health at The Ohio State University. Her research focus is on Anaplasma presence in white-tailed deer in Northeastern Ohio. She has received her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science with a concentration in Animal Industry at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Tahirah’s career aspirations consist of working at the CDC Division of Vector-borne diseases and to help reduce vector-borne illness in marginalized communities. In her free time, she enjoys crafting, reading, and spending time with her dog, Moxie.

Laina Friedrichsen (she/her/hers) is a DVM student at the Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She is interested in pursuing zoo and wildlife medicine in the future and is working on a project studying tick populations found at The Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio. Laina graduated from the Ohio State University in 2021 majoring in Animal Sciences. In her free time, she likes to read, paint, hike, and sew.

Undergraduate Students

Jazmin Jennings is an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University majoring in Zoology with a minor in Animal Pre-Veterinary Medicine. She is interested in pursuing wildlife veterinary medicine and exploring how zoonoses spread among wild animal populations.

Jessica Fleming is an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University majoring in Zoology. She is interested in exotic/wildlife veterinary medicine and how invasive parasites can affect wildlife conservation efforts. In her free time, she enjoys birding, hiking, and reading.

Joe Sieving is majoring in Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife. He is an easy going kind of person and enjoys traveling, hiking/backpacking, aquascaping, and fish keeping. He is working on mesomammal health project with the PPE Lab and the Ohio Division of Wildlife.