Monique Ambrose

Title

PhD student
UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Education

BA, College of Creative Studies Honors Program, Biology with minors in Mathematics and Statistical Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara

Office

4000 Terasaki Life Sciences Building
(310) 206-8203

Email

moniquea@ucla.edu

My broad research interests involve developing and applying quantitative approaches to study the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. I am particularly interested in the beginning stages of pathogen invasion that immediately follow spillover from a reservoir species or reintroduction from a separate population.

My current research questions include: (1) How do traits of the host population, such as population structure and individual variability, affect the initial spread and ultimate success of a pathogen? (2) What are the expected dynamics of competition between a human pathogen and a cross-protective zoonotic pathogen that spills over into the human population? In particular, what will be the system's behavior both during and following a vaccination campaign? (3) Can we use mathematical models to maximze the amount of information we can infer from surveillance data of a subcritical zoonotic pathogen? and (4) Can immunity from childhood influenza exposure help explain the puzzling age distribution of severe cases of avian influenzas H5N1 and H7N9?

Gostic, K.M., Ambrose, M.R., Worobey, M, Lloyd-Smith, J.O. (2017) Maternal antibodies' role in immunity - Response. Science. 355: 705. PDF - Web

Gostic, K.M., Ambrose, M.R., Worobey, M, Lloyd-Smith, J.O. (2016) Potent protection against H5N1 and H7N9 influenza via childhood hemagglutinin imprinting. Science. 354: 722-726. PDF - Web