PAULA LADO
Hello and welcome to my website!
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ABOUT ME |
"Parasites, vectors, vector-borne diseases, global health"
My name is Paula Lado, and I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Foy lab, at the Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases (CVID), Colorado State University. I am a biologist passionate about research, education, and diversity in STEM. I deeply enjoy interdisciplinary work and collaboration.
I am broadly interested in parasitology (with a soft spot for parasites of veterinary importance), vectors, vector-borne diseases, and ecology. Within the scope of those themes, my research interests include: molecular ecology of vectors, vector-borne diseases, and parasites; anthelmintic and insecticide/acaricide resistance; vector and parasites control; molecular systematics; molecular diagnostics; phylogenetics; and microbiomes. I approach questions related to these topics from different perspectives and focus on different disciplines to answer them. I believe in integrative approaches, and thus, I aim to collect different types of data to answer my research questions. In the last few years I have dedicated myself to learn more about tick vectors, their microbiome, demographic history, phylogenetics, and population genetics. And what about other vectors? Mosquitoes? I am very excited to be transitioning to mosquitoes research in the Foy lab! My work at the CVID will focus on insecticide resistance of Anopheles mosquitoes in the context of a clinical trial (RIMDAMAL II) to control malaria in west Africa. RIMDAMAL aims at preventing and controlling malaria through mass drug administration of ivermectin to human populations. While at the Foy lab, I am also looking forward to learning more about arboviruses, and helping with ongoing projects.
I am always happy to meet new people and set new collaborations, so if you are interested, please get in touch!
Besides research, I like teaching and mentoring undergrad students, and luckily, I have had the opportunity to participate in different courses and workshops during the past years. Outside work I enjoy spending time with great people, traveling, the outdoors, music, soccer, working out, and insightful discussions.
I am broadly interested in parasitology (with a soft spot for parasites of veterinary importance), vectors, vector-borne diseases, and ecology. Within the scope of those themes, my research interests include: molecular ecology of vectors, vector-borne diseases, and parasites; anthelmintic and insecticide/acaricide resistance; vector and parasites control; molecular systematics; molecular diagnostics; phylogenetics; and microbiomes. I approach questions related to these topics from different perspectives and focus on different disciplines to answer them. I believe in integrative approaches, and thus, I aim to collect different types of data to answer my research questions. In the last few years I have dedicated myself to learn more about tick vectors, their microbiome, demographic history, phylogenetics, and population genetics. And what about other vectors? Mosquitoes? I am very excited to be transitioning to mosquitoes research in the Foy lab! My work at the CVID will focus on insecticide resistance of Anopheles mosquitoes in the context of a clinical trial (RIMDAMAL II) to control malaria in west Africa. RIMDAMAL aims at preventing and controlling malaria through mass drug administration of ivermectin to human populations. While at the Foy lab, I am also looking forward to learning more about arboviruses, and helping with ongoing projects.
I am always happy to meet new people and set new collaborations, so if you are interested, please get in touch!
Besides research, I like teaching and mentoring undergrad students, and luckily, I have had the opportunity to participate in different courses and workshops during the past years. Outside work I enjoy spending time with great people, traveling, the outdoors, music, soccer, working out, and insightful discussions.
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MORE ABOUT ME |
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I grew up in Uruguay, where I did my Bachelors and one of my Masters degrees. During my undergrad, I thaught Veterinary Parasitology and did my research thesis on fishes’ trematodes (flukes). We identified both intermediate and definitive host species for Dicrogaster fastigatus parasite in nature. After finishing my BS, I pursued a master degree under the direction of Jose Venzal, working on ticks and tick-borne diseases. My work focused on the seroepidemiology of Rickettsia parkeri and other rickettsiosis in dogs living in metropolitan areas and suburbs in Uruguay. During this time, I had the opportunity to visit Marcelo Labruna’s lab at the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), where I did part of my laboratory work (some birds sampling looking for ticks on my spare time), and learned some Portuguese! Then, I decided to explore a different area within ticks’ research and I took a research assistant position in the Beati lab, at Georgia Southern University (where I did a MS in Biology). At GSU, I worked on molecular systematics of different tick species, such as Amblyomma parvum, and the A. maculatum group of species. I learned new techniques, approaches, and to think from a more “evolutionary” perspective. It was about that time when I became more interested in phylogenetics, and species delimitation. Once I graduated, and after some time as a lab tech at Beati lab, I moved to Columbus, Ohio, to start my PhD in Hans Klompen lab, at The Ohio State University. By then I had seen the world from the pathogens’ perspective, and from the ticks’ (and other parasites) perspective…which provided me with great insight for developing my PhD research project. My dissertation/thesis aimed at better understanding the dynamics of TBDs in the US using an integrative approach. During this work and employing next generation sequencing techniques, I generated -at the time- the most comprehensive genetic data sets for North American ticks. By using a variety of molecular and bioinformatic tools I have contributed to the understanding of Amblyomma americanum and Dermacentor variabilis population genetic structure, demographic history, phylogenetics, and microbiome (more information in the Research section).
Sampling locations
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