I am an infectious disease ecologist; the broad aim of my research program is to understand infectious disease dynamics in animal and human populations. I test hypotheses regarding disease spread and consequent control through parameterizing theoretical disease models with empirical data. I am interested in two fundamental areas: (i) How are pathogens maintained in multi-host ecosystems? (ii) How does heterogeneity in population contact structure affect pathogen dynamics? My research is inherently interdisciplinary as I work at the intersection of environmental, human, and animal health.

• Fountain-Jones, N.M., S. Kraberger, R.B. Gagne, D.R. Trumbo, P.E. Salerno, W.C. Funk, K. Crooks, R. Biek, M. Alldredge, K. Logan, G. Baele, S. Dellicour, H.B. Ernest, S. VandeWoude, S. Carver & M.E. Craft. (2021) Host relatedness and landscape connectivity shape pathogen spread in the puma, a large secretive carnivore. Communications Biology, 12. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-01548-2
• White, L.A., S. VandeWoude & M.E. Craft. (2020) A mechanistic, stigmergy model of territory formation in solitary animals: Territorial behavior can dampen disease prevalence but increase persistence. PLOS Computational Biology. 16: e1007457. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007457
• Murray, M.H., C.A. Sánchez, D.J. Becker, K.A. Byers, K.E.L. Worsley-Tonks & M.E. Craft. (2019) City-sicker? A meta-analysis of wildlife health and urbanization. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 17: 575-583. doi:10.1002/fee.2126
• Rohr, J.R., C.B. Barrett, D.J. Civitello, M.E. Craft, B. Delius, G.A. De Leo, P.J. Hudson, N. Jouanard, K.H. Nguyen, R.S. Ostfeld, J.V. Remais, G. Riveau, S.H. Sokolow & D. Tilman. Emerging human infectious diseases and the links to global food production. (2019) Nature Sustainability, 2: 445-456. doi:10.1038/s41893-019-0293-3
• White, L.A., J.D. Forester & M.E. Craft. (2018) Disease outbreak thresholds emerge from interactions between movement behavior, landscape structure, and epidemiology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115: 7374-7379.
• White, L.A., J.D. Forester & M.E. Craft. (2017) Using contact networks to explore mechanisms of parasite transmission in wildlife. Biological Reviews, 92: 389-409. doi: 10.1111/brv.12236
• Craft, M.E. (2015) Infectious disease transmission and contact networks in wildlife and livestock. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B- Biological Sciences, 370: 20140107. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0107
• Reynolds, J.J.H., B.T. Hirsch, S.D. Gehrt & M.E. Craft. (2015) Raccoon contact networks predict seasonal susceptibility to rabies outbreaks and limitations of vaccination. Journal of Animal Ecology, 84:1720-1731. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12422
• Reynolds, J.J.H., M. Torremorell & M.E. Craft. (2014) Mathematical modeling of influenza A virus dynamics within swine farms and the effects of vaccination. PLoS ONE, 9: e106177. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111832