Adela Oliva Chavez
Mentor since: 2022
Mentees: Abigail Leal and Sydney Orsborn
Field of expertise:Ticks, Tick-born diseases, Vaccine Development, Vector-pathogen Interactions.
Short biography:
Dr. Adela Oliva Chavez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, previously at Texas A&M University. She has mentored several undergraduate students and graduate students on molecular biology, microbiology, and projects involving animals. She strives to have a diverse laboratory where students can develop their scientific and communication skills. She believes that science is better with diversity and is working towards creating opportunities for under-represented members of the scientific community. She has received several national and international awards, including the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for Early Career Research at Texas A&M University in 2023 and the Young Scientist in Ticks & Tick-borne Pathogens Award at the International Ticks & Tick-borne Pathogens Meeting in South Africa in 2014. She was named a Scialog Fellow “Mitigating Zoonotic Threats (MZT). Research Corporation for Science Advancement” in 2021 and 2022 and a USDA E. Kika De La Garza Science Fellow in 2023. She is one of the Diversity Ambassadors for the American Society for Rickettsiology.
Brief summary of research projects:
Mainly focused on ticks and tick-borne diseases, we have several projects working on improving our understanding of the immune responses of animals to the tick bite and the transmission of pathogens. Although a lot of work has been done to define what happens systematically during sickness with pathogen causing disease in animals, little is known of the events that take place early at the skin level. We are also working towards developing anti-tick vaccines studying novel molecules known as extracellular vesicles. Lastly, we are investigating how epigenetics, a form of gene regulation, on the survival of ticks to winter, regulation of behavior, and adaptations during tick feeding.
Website: https://www.tickchavezlab.com/
Assistant Professor
Entomology, University of Wisconsin
Email: olivachvez@wisc.edu