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Cornell University

Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center
for Wildlife Health

News

March 2025

Ana Bento portrait

Blog

A ‘Model’ Professor

March 19, 2025
The work of Cornell Public Health’s Dr. Ana Bento bridges ecology, climate, and public health, using mathematical models to understand the complex factors driving the spread of infectious diseases.
Public Health
Infectious Disease
Popluation Dynamics
Wild Sheep
Scotland
Bovine Tuberculosis
Wildlife and Domestic Animal Health
Modeling
Population Modeling
Mathematical Modelling
Infectious Disease Modeling
Environmental Modeling
Pathogen Surveillance
Disease Transmission
Cornell Public Health
Assistant Professor
Genomic Pathogen Surveillance
Bat handing upside down from tree branch
Bats
Virus
One Health
Jamaican Fruit Bats
Native Wildlife
Hendra Virus
Wildlife Immunology
Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability
Climate Change
SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-1
Nipah Virus
Ebola
Ecosystem Health
Pathogens
Wildlife Disease Ecology
Behavioral Research
Wildlife Virology
Wildlife Diet
Wildlife Behavior
Plowright Lab
Public Health
Pathogen Spillover
horses
Preventing Pandemic
Viral Shedding

Changes in Bats’ Diets Increase Spread of Viruses, Spillover Risk

March 17, 2025
Cornell researcher Raina Plowright and her team found that when bats shift to low-protein diets due to habitat loss, they shed more viruses, increasing the risk of spillover to humans and animals.