About Us
Study Leadership
Ross M. Boyce MD, MSc
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
roboyce@med.unc.edu
Dr. Ross Boyce is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was raised in Clemmons, NC, spending many of his summers hiking and canoeing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western NC. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors in Chemistry from Davidson College. Following graduation, Dr. Boyce was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. He completed two deployments to Iraq, where he served in a variety of leadership positions including Reconnaissance Platoon Leader, Operations Officer, and Civil-Military Officer. For his service, Dr. Boyce was awarded three Bronze Star Medals, including one with a Valor Device for heroism in combat. Upon leaving the military, Dr. Boyce attended medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, after which he completed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He returned to UNC in 2015 to pursue his infectious diseases fellowship, joining the faculty in 2019. Dr. Boyce leads a multi-disciplinary research collaboration, the Vector-Borne Disease Epidemiology, Ecology, and Response (VEER) Hub, focused on issues of tick- and mosquito-borne diseases endemic to North Carolina.
Brian Byrd PhD, MSPH
Professor in the Environmental Health Sciences program, College of Health and Human Sciences, Western Carolina University
bdbyrd@wcu.edu
Dr. Brian Byrd is a Professor and Program Director in the Environmental Health Sciences program, College of Health and Human Sciences, Western Carolina University. He received his undergraduate degree (BA-Biology) from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, a Master’s of Science in Public Health Parasitology, and his Doctorate (PhD) from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. During his studies at Tulane, he was a pre‐doctoral fellow in a CDC funded training program in vector‐borne infectious diseases. His research focuses on native and invasive domestic mosquitoes and mosquito‐borne diseases, with a regional focus on La Crosse encephalitis.
Research Team
Dana Giandomenico, MPH, CPH, REHS
Program Manager, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
Dana is the Vector-borne Disease Program Manager within the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases overseeing Dr. Ross Boyce’s research projects both within North Carolina and overseas in Uganda. She is a proud graduate of Western Carolina University where she studied under Dr. Brian Byrd and received Bachelor of Science degrees in Environmental Health and Environmental Science. She continued her studies at the University of South Florida where she received a Master of Public Health in Global Communicable Disease.
Her interests include vector-borne disease epidemiology, vector ecology and control, and entomological fieldwork.
Vanessa Morman, MPH
Arbovirus Study Coordinator, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
Vanessa is the LaCrosse Virus Study Coordinator in the Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases. She was born and raised in Soperton, Georgia located in Southeast Georgia. After leaving her hometown, Vanessa attended both Spelman College and Georgia State University where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health. She is also a proud alum of Morehouse School of Medicine where she received a Master of Public Health degree. She currently resides in East Tennessee where she is completing her Doctor of Public Health degree with a concentration in Epidemiology at East Tennessee State University.
Her research interests include chronic diseases, health disparities, and adverse childhood experiences. In her free time Vanessa enjoys going on nature walks with her labradoodle Nova-Kai.
Jaslyn Stamey
Graduate Research Assistant, Western Carolina University Mosquito-borne Infectious Disease Laboratory
Jaslyn Stamey is a graduate research assistant pursuing her M.S. in biology at Western Carolina University (WCU). She was raised in Canton, NC, spending lots of time in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jaslyn received her undergraduate degree in 2022 in biology with a concentration in ecology and evolution from WCU, where she graduated with honors.
Jaslyn joined the WCU Mosquito and Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory in 2023. Her current research focuses on the blood-feeding ecology of La Crosse virus vectors in Western North Carolina. Jaslyn is a member of the ecological field team that evaluates La Crosse virus risk factors.
Hannah Alexander
Graduate Research Assistant, Western Carolina University Mosquito-borne Infectious Disease Laboratory
Hannah Alexander is a graduate research assistant in the Western Carolina University (WCU) Mosquito-borne Infectious Disease Laboratory. Hannah was born and raised in Charlotte, NC and received her undergraduate degree in biology from WCU. She is currently working toward her M.S. in biology while developing better methods to understand human exposures to La Crosse virus vectors.
Her academic interests include arthropods, immunology, virology, and vector-borne infectious disease. Hannah is a member of the ecological field team that evaluates La Crosse virus risk factors.
Madeleine Craig
Vector Biologist, Western Carolina University Mosquito-borne Infectious Disease Laboratory
Madeleine Craig is a vector biologist with Western Carolina University’s Mosquito and Vector-Borne Infectious Disease laboratory. She has twice (Summer 2023 and Summer 2024) completed internships with the CDC’s Southeastern Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Diseases where she has worked on La Crosse virus vector ecology and surveillance projects. For her, La Crosse disease risk is personal — she has lived in an endemic area in North Carolina for three years with her two young children.
Madeleine is currently completing her Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She is a member of the ecological field team that evaluates La Crosse virus risk factors.
About the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases
The Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) at the UNC School of Medicine is an engine for global health research and pan-university collaboration, transforming health in North Carolina and around the world. As the PI’s comprehensive partner, IGHID facilitates research excellence while providing opportunities for investigators to nurture emerging scientists through training and service, to achieve positive patient care outcomes and sustainable practice.
Partnerships
