Pia (she/her) is an Interdisciplinary Summer Intern at VCE and a rising junior and Biological Science major at the University of Vermont interested in zoonoses, spillover events in wildlife, and wildlife conservation. Ever since job-shadowing her family’s vet and volunteering at her local wildlife sanctuary, she has been fascinated with interactions between environmental health and human or domestic animal health. At UVM, Pia had the opportunity to assist in tick-borne disease research and research on the spillover of avian malaria into common loons, learning about how climate change enables the range expansion of disease-carrying vectors like mosquitoes and ticks, potentially spreading vector-borne pathogens to vulnerable wildlife populations. This summer at VCE, she hopes to learn about the animals affected by these changes up close, outside a laboratory setting, learn about their place in their ecosystem, and expand how she thinks about wildlife diseases and how the behavioral ecology of animals affects patterns of disease.
Pia has a love for animals in both her professional work and personal life! Outside of college and work, she enjoys spending time with her cats, birdwatching, and aquascaping for her fish.
