Gaëlle Blanvillain

Welcome!

I am currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Biology at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

My primary interests are centered around conservation biology and disease ecology, in herpetofauna.

I am working in the lab of Joseph Hoyt, studying Snake Fungal Disease (also known as Ophidiomycosis), an emergent infectious disease affecting wild snakes in the United States, Canada, and Europe. SFD is considered a major threat to the global conservation of snakes, and my research aims to understand disease drivers of SFD in Europe (looking at both the host and pathogen), and how life-history traits and environmental factors impact disease transmission and infection severity on large geographical scales.

Over the last three years, I developed a large collaborative effort with researchers and herpetologists in 10 countries in Europe, and I spent time in the field working in Hungary, Switzerland, and in Austria with herpetologists and scientists from the Museum of Natural History in Vienna. Back in the lab, you can find me extracting DNA, running qPCR, analyzing data and writing scientific papers.

Ultimately, my passion resides in applied conservation, specifically of endangered species, and I hope to use my skills and multicultural experiences to work for an international non-profit organization.