Institute for Health in the Human Ecosystem

You will gain a knowledge network for a diverse and growing community of practitioners who transform science, and develop interventions across plant, animal and human vector-borne diseases.

The coursework will stimulate and enhance innovative research, collaborations, teaching and outreach in plant, animal and human vector-borne diseases through a cutting-edge and interactive annual course delivered by a core community of leading scientists.

See what course participants from around the world have to say about their experience in the Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases six-day course taken in June 2025.

Decision-making
This occurs at many levels in vector-borne diseases. For example, hosts and vectors are subject to processes analogous to decision-making, researchers and practitioners are subjected to decision-making that is often constrained by the pathosystem of study and goals for management (e.g., pertaining to agriculture vs public health) and by the diagnostic tools available or selected.

Networks
We want to create a “knowledge network” of researchers, trainees and practitioners who look at plant, animal and human vector-borne diseases more holistically. This is also a concept that we will solidify with talks that illustrate networks of biology across multiple scales in vector-borne disease pathosystems.

Communication
We can talk about host-vector communication, host-pathogen communication, communication among participants and instructors, communication among scientists, stakeholders and the public and, perhaps most importantly, scientific communication across pathosystems that is enabled by breaking down barriers in vocabulary.

Dynamics
Vector-borne disease pathosystems are incredibly dynamic and we seek to facilitate new ways of thinking about important distinctions, biological parallels and ecosystem drivers across plant, animal and human vector-borne diseases. This will enable a new generation of thinkers to respond more effectively to emergent, dynamic, complex phenomena with innovative and sustainable solutions.

• Corey Campbell — Colorado State University
• Nora Cespedes — University of Idaho
• Gitta Coaker — University of California-Davis
• Yared Debebe Desta — University of Idaho
• Pilar Fernandez — Washington State University
• Alan Goodman — Washington State University
• Scott Harper — Washington State University, Clean Plant Center Northwest
• Luc Leblanc — University of Idaho
• Ed Lewis — University of Idaho
• Shirley Luckhart — University of Idaho
• Anthony Mabele — Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya
• Christie Mayo — Colorado State University
• Chris Mclntosh — University of Idaho
• Raul Medina — Texas A&M University
• Kevin Ochwedo — University of Idaho
• Edward Okoth Abworo — International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya
• Jane Polston — University of Florida
• Ann Powers — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins
• Michael Riehle — University of Arizona
• Arash Rashed — Virginia Tech
• Marilyn Roossinck — Pennsylvania State University
• Glen Scoles — USDA/ARS
• Luke Sheneman — University of Idaho
• Erik Wenninger — University of Idaho
• Boyu Zhang — University of Idaho
• Martty Ytreberg — University of Idaho
• Eric Holmes — University of Idaho
• Felix Pabon-Rodriguez — Indiana University
• Andres Visintin — University of Cordoba, Argentina
• Brittany Barker — Oregon State University

U.S. National Science Foundation Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (NSF EEID) 2025 scholarships

• Maria Bourquia (Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Morocco)
• Joelyn Goi (Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Papua New Guinea)
• Fabiola Guzman (Fund for the Protection of Water-FONAG, Ecuador)
• Jane Kamau (Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, Kenya)
• Victor Vincent Mosha (Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Tanzania)
• Edward Okonjo (The Technical University of Kenya, Kenya)
• Seline Omondi (Kenya Medical Research Institute-KEMRI, Kenya)
• Stephen Mayowa Ezekiel (AP Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Nigeria)
• Carlos Granda (National University of Piura, Perú)
• Diana Hernández (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA)
• Adrian Marshall (Washington State University, USA)  
• Meghan Lackner (St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District, USA)
• Md Nurul Islam (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
• Gwenyth Coleman (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA)

Scholarship in recognition of the Elsevier journal One Health, 2025

• Samantha Hall (UC Davis, USA)

IHHE funding support awardees, 2025

• Gifty Kwakyewaa Bempong (University of Idaho, USA)
• Vanessa Otero (University of Idaho, USA)

• BEI Resources for Infectious Diseases Research
• Coursera — Bioinformatics
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Global Biodefense events
• JournalMap — Geographic mapping tool
• National Academy of Sciences
• National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• ProMED mail
• Science News
• Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases
• Software carpentry workshops
• UN Sustainable Development Goals
• World Health Organization

• Applications for the 2026 IHHE REEU Traineeship are due for first consideration twice per year. The first deadline is by 5 p.m. PST on Dec. 19, 2025, and the second is by 5 p.m. PST on March 13, 2026.

Eligibility

• Undergraduate students with junior standing enrolled full time in any major are eligible.
• Qualified students must have completed coursework for the first year of their majors, with a minimum of 16 credit hours of STEM-based courses.

Award and conditions

• Successful applicants will receive $7,000 for a stipend, plus research support for summer research internship.
• Awardees are expected to present their work during the annual IHHE Research Symposium in April.

To apply, fill out the form and email it to Ed Lewis (eelewis@uidaho.edu).

• Mini-grant applications will be considered at any date, but to maximize the odds of success, please aim for one of these deadlines. The first deadline is 5 p.m. PST on Dec. 19, 2025, and the second is 5 p.m. PST on March 13, 2026.
• Applications during the summer and fall semesters will be reviewed in the first week of November. Awardees will be notified before the end of the fall semester to conduct a project for the following spring semester.
• Applications during the spring semester will be reviewed in the first week of May. Awardees will be notified before the end of the spring semester to conduct a project for the following summer or fall semester.

Specific calls for proposals will be announced at the beginning of fall and spring semesters.

Eligibility

• U of I undergraduate students must be enrolled full time in any major. Qualified students must have completed coursework for the first year of their majors, with a minimum of 16 credit hours of STEM-based courses.

Award and conditions

• Awards consist of $500 or $1,000 to support research projects. We anticipate offering as many as 10 awards at $500 and five awards at $1,000.
• Applicants must be working with a faculty or industry mentor to develop and submit a research proposal focused on plant, animal or human health in complex, managed ecosystems. While applications must be broadly relevant to this topic, we will consider applications from any area of STEM. The award can support a project to be conducted during the following summer or fall semester.
• Awards may be used to support research (supplies, instrument time, travel to field sites, etc.), but cannot be used to support travel to conferences for research presentations (for this we direct you to the Office of Undergraduate Research travel grant program).

To apply, fill out the form and email it to Ed Lewis (eelewis@uidaho.edu).

The University of Idaho USDA-funded Research and Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU) program (2021-2026) is administered by the U of I Institute for Health in the Human Ecosystem (IHHE) and provides competitive financial support for U of I undergraduates to perform research with a U of I faculty mentor or Idaho industry mentor. The goal of the REEU is to train students to understand the connections among plant, animal and human health in complex, managed ecosystems. These can include, but are not limited to, agricultural, forest, soil and water ecosystems as well as urban and rural ecosystems.

Students will submit a research proposal with an REEU mentor for an announced deadline. Outstanding applicants will receive a funded summer internship or a research grant award for summer or fall semester research. REEU trainees will participate in the IHHE annual research retreat. In their second year, REEU students will be trained as peer mentors to guide first-year REEU students, providing strong research and leadership training for all REEU students.

Students in any U of I major can apply, but applicants must work with an REEU faculty or industry mentor to develop a research proposal focused on plant, animal or human health in complex, managed ecosystems. Students are encouraged but not required to enroll in EPPN 110 Introduction to Global Disease Ecology to learn how to write a competitive proposal and to identify a mentor.

• One full year of research and leadership training for career success.
• Enduring, personal connections to U of I faculty and industry leaders to support career next-steps.
• One-on-one REEU mentoring for support and guidance to degree completion.
• Developing critical thinking skills, improving oral communication and writing skills.
• Unique preparation to solve complex challenges to plant, animal and human health for new and emerging careers.

Contact faculty

• Ed Lewis, eelewis@uidaho.edu
• Shirley Luckhart, sluckhart@uidaho.edu

Anyone eligible to be a PI on a proposal can submit through the IHHE. For proposals that are collaborative and/or have subawards or contracts, we ask that the request be made no later than four weeks prior to the sponsor’s deadline. For all other submissions, the request should be made at least three weeks prior to the sponsor’s deadline.

If you choose to affiliate your grant proposal with IHHE in VERAS, you will need to check the appropriate box in the “Affiliation with University-Level Research Institute” section of VERAS for the IHHE. Checking this box will not change the amount of F&A returned from your grant to your college and department.

You can affiliate your proposal with more than one institute if appropriate by checking more than one institute.

We look forward to hearing from you and are happy to consider ways that we can support U of I research in all aspects of health in complex ecosystems.

University of Idaho

• Jacob Bledsoe, Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, bledsoe@uidaho.edu
• Allan Caplan, Department of Plant Sciences, acaplan@uidaho.edu
• Steve Cook, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, stephenc@uidaho.edu
• Louise-Marie Dandurand, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, lmd@uidaho.edu
• Sanford Eigenbrode, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, sanforde@uidaho.edu
• Mary Engels, Department of Natural Resources and Society, engels@uidaho.edu
• Paul Gessler, Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences, paulg@uidaho.edu
• Bruce Godfrey, Library, bgodfrey@uidaho.edu
• Chris Hamilton, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, hamiltonlab@uidaho.edu
• Esteban Hernandez-Vargas, Department of Mathematics and Statistical Science, esteban@uidaho.edu
• Jeffrey Hicke, Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences, jhicke@uidaho.edu
• Tara Hudiburg, College of Natural Resources, thudiburg@uidaho.edu
• Alex Karasev, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, akarasev@uidaho.edu
• Luc LeBlanc, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, leblancl@uidaho.edu
• Katherine Lee, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, katherinelee@uidaho.edu
• Laurel Lynch, Department of Soil and Water Systems, llynch@uidaho.edu
• Marshall Ma, Department of Computer Science, max@uidaho.edu
• Mark McGuire, Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, mmcguire@uidaho.edu
• Shelley McGuire, School of Family and Consumer Sciences, smcguire@uidaho.edu
• Tanya Miura, Department of Biological Sciences, tmiura@uidaho.edu
• Christine Parent, Department of Biological Engineering, ceparent@uidaho.edu
• Jagdish Patel, Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, jpatel@uidaho.edu
• Barrie Robison, Department of Biological Sciences, brobison@uidaho.edu
• Paul Rowley, Department of Biological Sciences, prowley@uidaho.edu
• Brenda Schroeder, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, bschroeder@uidaho.edu
• Luke Sheneman, Northwest Knowledge Network, sheneman@uidaho.edu
• Amy Skibiel, Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, askibiel@uidaho.edu
• Alistair Smith, Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences, alistair@uidaho.edu
• Terry Soule, Department of Computer Sciences, tsoule@uidaho.edu
• Jared Spackman, Department of Plant Sciences, jspackman@uidaho.edu
• Michael Strickland, Department of Soil and Water Systems, mstrickland@uidaho.edu
• Andreas E. Vasdekis, Department of Physics, andreasv@uidaho.edu
• Kristopher V. Waynant, Department of Chemistry, kwaynant@uidaho.edu
• Erik Wenninger, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, erikw@uidaho.edu
• Frank Wihelm, Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, fwilhelm@uidaho.edu
• James Woodhall, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, jwoodhall@uidaho.edu
• Sarah Wu, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, xwu@uidaho.edu

Washington State University

• Kelly Brayton, Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, kbrayton@wsu.edu
• Jesse Brunner, School of Biological Sciences, jesse.brunner@wsu.edu
• Dave Crowder, Department of Entomology, dcrowder@wsu.edu
• Pilar Fernandez, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, pilar.fernandez@wsu.edu
• Alan Goodman, School of Molecular Biosciences, alan.goodman@wsu.edu
• Scott Harper, Clean Plant Center Northwest, scott.harper@wsu.edu
• Tom Kawula, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, tom.kawula@wsu.edu
• Eric Lofgren, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, eric.lofgren@wsu.edu
• Jeb Owen, Department of Entomology, jowen@wsu.edu
• Hanu Pappu, Department of Plant Pathology, hrp@wsu.edu
• Dana Shaw, Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, dana.shaw@wsu.edu
• Kiwamu Tanaka, Department of Plant Pathology, kiwamu.tanaka@wsu.edu
• Viveka Vadyvaloo, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, vvadyvaloo@wsu.edu

USDA

• Susan Noh, USDA-Animal Disease Research Unit, Susan.Noh@ars.usda.gov
• Glen Scoles, USDA-Animal Disease Research Unit, Glen.Scoles@ars.usda.gov
• Carlos Suarez, USDA-Animal Disease Research Unit, Carlos.Suarez@ars.usda.gov
• Massaro Ueti, USDA-Animal Disease Research Unit, Massaro.Ueti@ars.usda.gov

• Rodrigo Almeida, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, rodrigoalmeida@berkeley.edu
• Matthew Baylis, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, matthew.baylis@liverpool.ac.uk
• Bill Black, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, William.Black@colostate.edu
• Marek Borowiec, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, CO, marek.borowiec@colostate.edu
• Corey Campbell, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Plant Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Corey.Campbell@colostate.edu
• Adela Oliva Chavez, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, TX, aolivachavez@tamu.edu
• Christopher Cleveland, Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, University of Georgia, GA, ccleve@uga.edu
• Gitta Coaker, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, glcoaker@ucdavis.edu
• Nancy DuTeau, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Plant Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, nancy.duteau@gmail.com
• Janet Foley, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, jefoley@ucdavis.edu
• Bob Gilbertson, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, rlgilbertson@ucdavis.edu
• Kathy Hanley, Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, khanley@nmsu.edu
• Amanda Hodson, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, akhodson@ucdavis.edu
• Andy Jensen, Tri-state research director, Washington Potatoes, ajensen@potatoes.com
• Jan Kreuze, Crop and Systems Science Division, International Potato Center (CIP), j.kreuze@cgiar.org
• Anthony Mabele, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya, mabeleanthony@gmail.com
• Christie Mayo, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, christie.mayo@colostate.edu
• Neil McRoberts, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, nmcroberts@ucdavis.edu
• Raul Medina, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, rfmedina@tamu.edu
• Edward Okoth Abworo, African swine fever coordinator and veterinarian, International Livestock Research Institute, E.Okoth@cgiar.org
• Chris Paddock, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, cdp9@cdc.gov
• David Perera, Institute of Health and Community Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, dperera@unimas.my
• Jane Polston, Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, jep@ufl.edu
• Ann Powers, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases (DVBD), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, APowers@cdc.gov
• Arash Rashed, The Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech University, arashr@vt.edu
  Michael Riehle, Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, mriehle@ag.arizona.edu
• Jeff Riffell, Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, jriffell@uw.edu
• Michael Robert, Department of Mathematics, Virginia Tech University, VA, michaelrobert@vt.edu
• Marilyn Roossinck, Departments of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, and Biology; Center for Infectious Diseases Dynamics, Huck Institute of Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, mjr25@psu.edu
• Mike Strand, Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, mrstrand@uga.edu
• Matt Thomas, Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, FL, matthewthomas1@ufl.edu
• Jon Towner, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, jit8@cdc.gov
• Diane Ullman, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, deullman@ucdavis.edu