Agricultural and Life Sciences (IFAS)
Lord Lab
Led by Cynthia Lord · Entomology and Nematology
What we study
The lab uses math and computer models to study disease spread, like West Nile virus, focusing on how birds, mosquitoes, and ticks interact. They also explore how pesticides and competition affect transmission.
What working here is like
- Computational
- Fieldwork
- Wild animals
- Other insects
- Coding required
- Projects
- 3
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
West Nile virus epidemiology
Investigating how bird and mosquito species affect virus spread in Florida.
Black-legged tick population dynamics
Studies black-legged tick populations in south Florida, using field data and computer models to understand how their numbers change and what that means for disease spread.
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Canine influenza transmission
Uses mathematical models to simulate how canine influenza spreads among different groups of dogs, such as shelters or households, to understand how outbreaks start and grow.
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- How often, when, and where do people get bitten by mosquitoes? Characterizing human–mosquito contact using Bite Diary
2026 · Parasites & Vectors
Uses a smartphone app to track mosquito bites and outdoor activity to measure human exposure.
- Changes in the life history traits in Aedes aegypti selected for resistance to permethrin and thymol, a spatial repellent
2025 · PLoS ONE
Finds that permethrin-resistant Aedes aegypti mosquitoes show changes in life history traits.
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- Interactions of environment and bait on blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and flesh fly (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) trap capture
2025 · Journal of Medical Entomology
Tests whether bait type, decomposition, and temperature affect blow fly and flesh fly trap capture.
- Effects of Temperature Dependence in Mosquito Mortality on Simulated Chikungunya Virus Transmission
2025 · Viruses
Models how temperature affects mosquito survival and chikungunya virus transmission in Florida.
- Using environmental factors to predict Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) mortality
2023 · Pest Management Science
Shows how temperature and humidity affect Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. tick survival.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
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