UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

The Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health
A cross faculty research centre

Meggan Craft

NSF International Research Fellow

Graham Kerr Building,
Division of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ.

Tel.: +44 (0)141 330 6638
Fax: +44 (0)141 330 2792
Email: meggan.craft@gmail.com


Academic History

2009-present: Honorary Research Associate, Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, University of Glasgow
2008-2009: PDRA, University of Texas, Austin
2006-present: MPH (Epidemiology) University of Minnesota
2003-2008: Ph.D. (Ecology, Evolution & Behavior) University of Minnesota
1994-1997: B.A. (Biology), Brown University, Magna Cum Laude


Research Interests

  • Animal behavior and movement
  • Carnivore conservation
  • Disease dynamics and persistence
  • Interspecific interactions
  • Multihost diseases
  • Wildlife disease models
  • Zoonoses

My research takes a multidisciplinary approach that uses methods from epidemiology, ecology, animal behavior and mathematics to investigate disease dynamics in animal populations. I combine empirical data from my fieldwork with theoretical models to explore multi-host pathogen dynamics and persistence. I am broadly interested in questions such as:

  1. How are pathogens maintained in a multi-host ecosystem?
  2. How does social structure influence disease spread?
  3. What are effective intervention strategies (if any)?

My research currently uses canine distemper virus as a case study of a multi-host pathogen. I focus on African carnivores in the Serengeti ecosystem (Tanzania).


Publications

  • Craft, M.E., E. Volz, C. Packer & L.A. Meyers. (2009) Distinguishing epidemic waves from disease spillover in a wildlife population. Proc. R. Soc. B, doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.1636. (ProcRSoc pdf)
  • Craft, M.E. (in press) Ecology of infectious diseases in Serengeti lions. In: Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids (Eds. Macdonald, D.W. & A. Loveridge), Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Cleaveland, S., C. Packer, K. Hampson, M. Kaare, R. Kock, M. Craft, T. Lembo, T. Mlengeya & A. Dobson. (2008) The multiple roles of infectious diseases in the Serengeti ecosystem. In: Serengeti III: Human Impacts on Ecosystem Dynamics (Eds. Sinclair, A.R.E., C. Packer, S. Mduma, & J. Fryxell), Chicago University press, Chicago, 209-239.
  • Craft, M.E.*, P. L. Hawthorne, C. Packer & A. P. Dobson. (2008) Dynamics of a multi-host pathogen in a carnivore community. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 1257-1264. (JAE pdf)
    * Awarded Journal of Animal Ecology's best paper by a young author (2008)
  • Lembo, T., K. Hampson, D. Haydon, M. Craft, A. Dobson, J. Dushoff, E. Ernest, R. Hoare, M. Kaare, T. Mlengeya,  C. Mentzel & S. Cleaveland. (2008) Exploring reservoir dynamics: a case study of rabies in the Serengeti ecosystem. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45, 1246-1257. (Lembo pdf)
  • Craft, M.E.  (2007) Capture and rapid handling of jackals (Canis mesomelas and Canis adustus) without chemical immobilization. African Journal of Ecology, 46, 2, 214-216. (AJE pdf)

Articles highlighting my work

  • Haydon, D.T. (2008) Cross-disciplinary demands of multihost pathogens. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 1079-1081. (Haydon pdf)