Thomas Gillespie, MS, PhD

 

Thomas Gillespie is a professor of Environmental Sciences and Environmental Health at Emory University and Rollins School of Public Health.  His research examines interactions among anthropogenic environmental change; biodiversity; and the ecology and emergence of pathogens in wildlife, domestic animals, and people. His research group pursues these questions using diverse pathogen study systems within mammal metapopulations (primates, rodents, and bats) and vectors (mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas) in Sub- Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and Latin America experiencing distinct forms of disturbance (i.e., selective logging, forest fragmentation, agricultural interfaces, and tourism). This effort entails a combination of epidemiology, molecular ecology, behavioral ecology, social and clinical survey, and spatially explicit modeling. In addition to improving our understanding of the role of human induced habitat changes on pathogen dynamics, this work provides the opportunity for early detection of novel pathogens that may pose a threat to global health and / or wildlife conservation. 

 

Gillespie was among the first to demonstrate that human impact on the environment can alter the dynamics of natural pathogens in wildlife and create opportunities for pathogens to jump between species. His efforts in Tanzania, Madagascar, and Uganda serve as demonstration projects of the One Health Approach and have guided international efforts to protect endangered species from human diseases and prevent the next pandemic. Gillespie serves as an external expert to the High-Level Policy Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and a formal reviewer of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).