Biography

Growing up in New York City and South India, I developed a lifelong appreciation for biodiversity and curiosity about global change. I completed my B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, where I conducted research on South and Southeast Asian mammal biogeography. Upon graduating in 2020, I worked on COVID-19 response at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. This work experience, supplemented by my academic background in organismal biology, led me to explore the human-wildlife interface where viral spillover occurs. I am now pursuing a PhD in Biology at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at Cambridge. My thesis centers on the relationship between ecology and viral emergence, with a focus on zoonotic paramyxoviruses in fruit bats. I am particularly interested in the use of natural history museum collections for viral surveillance and host prediction. I strongly believe in accessible and inclusive science, especially in the form of creative science communication and outreach. I look forward to collaborating with the Gates Cambridge community to tackle pressing issues at the intersection of public and planetary health.

Previous Education

Yale University Ecology & Evolutionary Biology 2020

Links

http://mayajuman.github.io