Research & Team | Jaap de Roode

Areas of Research

Ecology and Evolution of Host-Parasite Interactions

Welcome to our research lab! We study various aspects of ecology and evolutionary biology, including the dynamics of host-parasite interactions, the evolution of immune systems, and the ecology of infectious diseases. Much of our work focuses on monarch butterflies and their parasites, asking how the milkweeds that monarchs use as caterpillars affects their susceptibility to parasite infection. We have also studied how beekeeping practices drive the spread of infectious disease in honey bees, and are currently investigating whether bees can use fungi to mitigate disease.

Genetics and Behavior

One exciting way in which animals can protect themselves against infectious diseases is by using medication. We study such behaviors in monarch butterflies, which can use toxic milkweeds as medicine, and in honey bees, where we are asking if bees can utilize fungi as medication. Another fascinating behavior we study is animal migration. Monarchs travel thousands of miles each year to reach overwintering sites in Mexico, and we study how monarchs navigate, and how this migration can help in keeping parasites at bay. As part of this work, we also study the population genetics of migratory and non-migratory monarchs around the world.

Science Communication

Communication is a key aspect of our research lab. We are passionate about effectively communicating scientific concepts to diverse audiences. From educational materials to engaging videos, we aim to make science accessible and captivating for everyone.

Our Team

Our research lab has a diverse team with members from different backgrounds. Over the years, we have had team members from many countries, including the Netherlands, United States, France, China, Taiwan, Iran, England, India, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Nigeria. Our team generally consists of research specialists, postdocs, PhD students and undergraduate students.

Jaap de Roode

Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Biology

Jaap received his MSc in Population Biology from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and his PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He is interested in the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, and currently studies infectious diseases of monarch butterflies and honey bees.

Erik Edwards

Greenhouse Manager

Erik obtained a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Georgia and has worked as grower at several commercial greenhouses. He is in charge of the Biology Department’s greenhouse, and and the Educational Gardens on the Emory Campus.

Tiana Scott

Lab Manager

Tiana graduated from Emory University with her BS in Biology. She is the research specialist for the de Roode and Gerardo labs. She is interested in the impact of environmental change on species interactions.

Nadya Muchoney

NSF Postdoctoral Fellow

Nadya obtained her PhD from the University of Nevada, Reno, where she studied the role of host plant chemistry in anti-viral immunity in butterfly hosts. She is currently investigating how milkweed chemicals shape monarch midgut microbiomes, and how midgut microbes contribute to resistance against a protozoan parasite.

website

Ehsan Sanaei

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ehsan obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland, and carried out postdoctoral research at Griffith University. His main interests involve insect-microbe interactions. Having studied Wolbachia endosymbionts in scale insects, he is now using monarch butterflies to study the role of gut microbes in driving resistance to parasite infection.

Mackenzie Hoogshagen

Graduate Student

Mackenzie obtained her BSc in Biology from the University of Central Arkansas and is currently a PhD student in Emory’s PBEE program. Her work focuses on chemical ecology and budget energy modeling. She is interested in understanding how climate change may alter host-parasite interactions, and uses monarch butterflies, their milkweed plants and their protozoan parasites as a model system.

Sara Gotkin

Undergraduate Student

Sara is a biology major at Emory University who is interested in the role of milkweed plant chemicals and other plant defenses in driving monarch-parasite interactions.

Marlyne Gonzalez

INSPIRE Undergraduate Student

Marlyne is a biology major on the pre-med track at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. As part of the Summer 2025 INSPIRE program at Emory, she is researching how antibiotic treatments affect the microbial communities of second instar monarch caterpillars.

Samvidha Meka

Summer Undergraduate Student

Samvidha studies biomedical physiology at the University of Georgia, and carries out research on tri-trophic interactions between monarchs, milkweeds, and parasites in the de Roode lab.

Publications
Our most up-to-date publications are on Google Scholar.

Click here for our publications

Former Team members

Postdocs: Chris Catano, Scott Villa, Ania Majewska, Venkat Talla, Kandis Adams, Lewis Bartlett, Travis Dynes, Leiling Tao, Justine Lyons, Thierry Lefèvre

PhD Students: Gabe DuBose, Mitchell Kendzel, Erica Harris, Signe White, Wen-Hao Tan, Travis Dynes, Mary Bushman, Amanda Pierce, Zach Lynch, Eleanore Sternberg

Masters Students: Gayatri Sekar, Andrew Mongue, Ivan Shoemaker, Dylan Grippi

Research Specialists: Zoe Zimmerman, Lydia Fuller-Hall, Joselyne Chavez, Tolu Babalola, Camden Gowler, Andrew Mongue, Rachel Rarick

Undergraduate Students: Lydia Fuller-Hall, Tristan Olpin, Markelle Worrell, Anushka Basu, Jacob Kim, Ali Ebada, Rayshaun Pettit, Ella Zhao, Kieran Kelly, Ashley Williams, Karl Protil, Wajd Alaidrous, John Rolfes, Mahal Bugay, Ezinne Nwadinobi, Ava Salmi, Abby Hotaling, Kristen Eichamer, Becca Nation, Mahal Bugay, Alicia Johnson, Chengwei Lo, Jessica Cai, Dametris Osbourne, Carl Dalmeus, Destane Garrett, Sasha Iwamoto, Aamina Ahmad, Kevin Hoang, Michelle Tsai, Itai Doron, Yiwen Li, Sarah Kuehl, Maaz Ahmed, Roy Kucuk, Jessica Nguyen, Kunsang Tsering, Emmanuel Arega,Emma Cornejo, Hannah Klein, Ahmed Aljohani, Grace Chlebove, Andrew Pahnke, Hannah Soloff, Gwen Kirschke, Elizabeth Sun, Krish Khurana, Sam Marrack, Isabella Cantor, Miles Hollimon, Yaw Kumi-Ansu, Kristoffer Leon, Andrew Mongue, Camden Gowler, Marie Bangura, Charisma Mylavarapu, Elizabeth Moore, Yamini Potini, Milan Udawatta, Rohini Swamy, Rebecca Wang, Shahbadul Faraz, John Joyave, Amanda Rawstern, Sarah Sonny, Carlos Lopez, Ashley Darar, Hui Li, Brandon Hedrick, Junjian Huang