Marianne S. Moore

PhD:  Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Boston University
NY-CAPS Placement: Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University
NY-CAPS Research Mentor: Dr. Liliana Dávalos

Current Professor: Assistant Professor of Biology

Marianne Moore is an ecophysiologist studying the immunology of bats. She earned her B.S. at the Evergreen State College and her Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at Boston University with Dr. Tom Kunz. Her early graduate work focused on the ecology of rabies in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and the effects of mercury contamination on the immune systems of the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and the big brown bat. She started researching the emerging bat fungal disease, white-nose syndrome (WNS), in 2008 and, for her Ph.D. thesis, conducted a large field-based study describing the immune responses of little brown myotis affected by WNS. As a postdoc in the lab of Dr. DeeAnn Reeder at Bucknell University, she experimentally tested species-specific differences in immune responses to infection by the WNS causative agent, Pseudogymnoascus destructans. She is now working with Dr. Liliana Dávalos on the evolution of immune system genes and genetic correlates of resistance to WNS using high throughput sequencing techniques. Her aim is to identify components of the immune response that confer resistance against the WNS fungal pathogen and, using this new knowledge, to develop mitigation strategies against this disease that could cause the regional extinction of at least two bat species within several decades.

Why I chose to join IRACDA NY-CAPS

I chose to participate in the IRACDA NY-CAPS program because it promised to provide a rare and exceptional opportunity for pedagogical, professional and research training in an inclusive environment I highly value. The promise is being fulfilled.