Sagan Friant, PhD

People

Sagan Friant - Principal Investigator

College of Liberal Arts Endowed Fellow &

Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Department of Anthropology

a co-hire of Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

Pennsylvania State University

Affiliations: Ecology Institute & Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics

email: sagan.friant@psu.edu

Twitter: @saganfriant

I am an integrative anthropologist studying the health consequences of human-animal-environment interactions. My research primarily takes place in Nigeria, where I have worked for 15 years. I am the founder and Director of the Cross River Ecology and Health Project and also lead several additional projects focused on zoonotic spillover. Through research and related programs I aim to identify and implement solutions that provide win wins for food, environmental, and global health security.

Postdoctoral Scholars

Katharine Thompson, PhD

Department of Anthropology

The Pennsylvania State University

email: Katharine.thompson@psu.edu

Twitter: @kateetthompson

website: www.katharine-thompson.com

Katharine “Kate'' Thompson is a presidential postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Anthropology at Penn State University. She received her BA in Anthropology and BS in Community, Environment, and Development from Penn State University, and both her MA and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Stony Brook University. Her research interests include human-wildlife interactions and natural resource use as a form of resilience for indigenous communities. Her dissertation investigates the interconnected

socioeconomic, food-security, and sociocultural factors that drive illegal wildlife consumption in Western Madagascar. At the Risk lab, Kate is currently developing mixed-methods approaches to elucidate how children interreact with wild animals and wild meat In Cross River State, Nigeria. Kate is also developing the first large-scale, cross-disciplinary analysis of the adverse events scientists experience while conducting fieldwork. Kate believes that real inclusivity and equity in STEM fields must include data-informed safety protocols and risk management practices that better protect researchers in urban and remote wilderness locations alike.

David Simons, PhD, MD

Department of Anthropology

The Pennsylvania State University

email: dzs2659@psu.edu

Twitter: @David_Simons_UK

website: www.dsimons.org

GitHub: https://github.com/DidDrog11

I am a postdoctoral scholar primarily working on the SCAPES project. Prior to joining Sagan’s lab, my PhD focused on the association of land use type on rodent ecology and the potential downstream effects on Lassa fever risk in Eastern Sierra Leone. Throughout my work I adopt One Health approaches to better understand zoonotic disease spillover risk into human populations from rodent hosts, drawing on methods from ecology, epidemiology, and medicine. In a past life, I was a medical doctor

working primarily in infectious diseases and emergency medicine but have now transitioned towards conducting research that can inform public health interventions to moderate the risk of rodent-associated zoonosis spillover in West Africa.

Graduate students

Christian Herrera

Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

The Pennsylvania State University

Affiliations: Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics & Department of Anthropology

email: ceh364@psu.edu

I am a second-generation Mexican American professional and PhD student in the Immunology and Infectious Disease track within the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences (MCIBS) program at Penn State University. My research

applies metagenomics and immunological tools to assess emerging infectious disease risks, particularly from bushmeat handling in Nigeria. With a background spanning biomedical research, biotechnology, immunology, entrepreneurship, and business strategy, I integrate scientific insights with strategic decision-making. I hold an MS in Biotechnology (Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center) and a BS in Biology (Angelo State University). My research experience includes viral transmission dynamics (Hudson/Vandegrift group, Penn State), bat population studies (Big Bend NP, Central America), cancer immunotherapy, and DoD-funded snake venom studies (NAMRU-SA, U.S. Navy). Beyond research, I bring 17+ years of experience in scientific innovation and business strategy. Pursuing a concurrent PhD and MBA at Penn State, I specialize in evaluating technologies and therapeutics for commercial impact, bridging science and business to drive innovation. Outside of work, I enjoy attending Penn State sporting events with my family, running two retail start-ups, and participating in the Penn State Archery Club Team.

Christina Harden, MPH

Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

The Pennsylvania State University

website: xtinaharden.carrd.co

email: cmh7042@psu.edu

I am a PhD student and J. Lloyd Huck Graduate Fellow in the Ecology Program.

I received my BS in Environmental Science from Cornell University and my MPH

in Epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health. My research with the SCAPES Project uses a mixed methods approach to better understand contact

between humans and rodent reservoirs of Lassa fever in Nigeria. More broadly, my research demonstrates how integrating community-based participatory research with traditional ecological methods can better reveal complex socioecological dynamics that promote or diffuse the human-wildlife interface and subsequent zoonotic disease risk. Beyond the RISK lab, I am an avid gardener, skier, and tv watcher who spends far too much time with my cats.

Matthew Keenan

Department of Anthropology

The Pennsylvania State University

email: mrk5708@psu.edu

I am a PhD student in Anthropology with interest in the risk of zoonotic disease spillover in a North American context as mediated by human hunting practices. My research experience prior to joining the Penn State PhD program was in developing geospatial products on bushmeat trading and associated activities in West Africa and conducting analysis on different rodent and human interactions to support a broader understanding of the anthropology of health risks. I additionally have field

experience conducting archeological fieldwork in the American Southeast in support of generating deeper understandings of Indigenous livelihoods and sustainability practices. I enjoy marathon running, rock climbing, reading, and supporting my fellow Penn State Veterans and their academic pursuits.

Kelly Schenk, MPH

Department of Anthropology

The Pennsylvania State University

email: kes6724@psu.edu

I am a PhD student in Anthropology with an interest in how landscape use modifies human-rodent interactions and zoonotic disease spillover risk. I received my BA in Anthropology and my MPH in Infectious Disease and Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh, where my graduate thesis focused on variation in tickborne pathogen prevalence across urban, suburban, and rural spaces in southwest Pennsylvania.

Prior to my PhD, I was a Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists Applied Epidemiology Fellow in the Minnesota Department of Health's Zoonotic Diseases

Unit and worked as a harmful algal bloom (HAB) epidemiologist for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In my free time, I enjoy baking, running, and reading.