Vanessa Rivera-Quiñones, a doctoral student in mathematics, and Tara Stewart Merrill, a doctoral student in the Program in Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology come from very different backgrounds, but they are working together at the University of Illinois to better understand disease in wildlife.

For almost two years, the two students have been working together with Carla Cáceres, professor of animal biology and director of the School of Integrative Biology, and Zoi Rapti, professor of mathematics, to study disease epidemics in plankton. By combining their expertise, the two have been able to create mathematical models that can evaluate the importance of recovery in plankton-disease systems— work that could not be completed without applying both of their specialties.

Read the full article in LAS News https://las.illinois.edu/news/2019-05-14/intersection-plankton-and-numbers