I’m a scientist. I work at the University of Georgia where I’m a professor in the Odum School of Ecology and Director of the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases. I fell in love with nature as a young child and with theoretical biology as a young adult. My research uses mathematics, statistics, computer models, and experiments to understand the dynamics of biological populations. I’m especially interested in ecological tipping points, the ecology of emerging infectious diseases, and extinction. My goal is to do science that matters to people, places, and the planet.