Led by PI Gustavo Machado and based in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology at the North Carolina State University, the Machado Lab focuses on developing machine-learning, mathematical modelling methods, and tools for data with direct application to emerging and transboundary animal diseases.
Gustavo Machado, Ph.D.
he/him/his
Principal Investigator
gmachad (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0001-7552-6144
Scholar Citations
@gustavoetal
gustavo-etal
Dr. Gustavo Machado is a 2010 graduate of the Veterinary College at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil. Dr. Machado completed a Master of Science in veterinary epidemiology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil in 2013.
Dr. Gustavo developed machine learning tools applied to epidemiology while pursuing his PhD in 2016. In 2016 he held a position as assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
He subsequently completed a postdoctoral associate position in the Veterinary Population Medicine Department, at the University of Minnesota. In January 2018, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine to lead research on transboundary epidemiology.
Dr. Machado's main research focus is to investigate the occurrence and spread of animal infectious diseases, especially transboundary disease, providing science-based support for decision making with regard to prevention and control. Currently, Dr. Machado's research is focused on mathematical modeling and traditional statistics for practical mapping of the spread of infectious diseases among pig populations. Dr. Machado has authored or co-authored more than 137 peer-reviewed publications in the field of animal disease and epidemiology.
In addition to all the exciting developments in the lab, Dr. Machado has a long standing interest in teaching disease epidemiology and developing and deploying capacity building for official veterinary services nationally and internationally.
Jason A. Galvis, Ph.D.
he/him/his
Postdoctoral researcher
joardila (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0003-2811-7684
Scholar Citations
jason-ncsu
Dr. Jason A. Galvis is a graduate of the Veterinary College at University Cooperative of Colombia, Colombia. Dr. Galvis completed a Master and PhD in veterinary epidemiology at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and he is currently enrolled as a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology at North Carolina State University. Research focus: data management and the development and application of epidemiological studies for better understanding of infectious diseases to support a more cost-effective and risk-based disease surveillance. Skills: Quantitative Epidemiology, Spatial analysis, Risk analysis, Disease spread models, social network analysis, statistical analysis, data mining. Computer Programming. Dr. Galvis primary uses R language and has experience in the application development with easy interfaces to data analysis and construction of tools for visual analysis.
Nicolas Cespedes Cardenas, DVM, MSc, Ph.D.
he/him/his
Postdoctoral researcher
ncesped (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0001-7884-2353
Scholar Citations
@nikocardenas1
ncespedesc
Dr. Nicolas Cespedes Cardenas is a 2014 graduate of the Veterinary College at the National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia. Dr. Cardenas completed a Master of Science at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil in the analysis of methods of conservation and molecular diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (TB) from TB-like lesions in 2016. In 2020 he completed a doctorate in epidemiology, working on social network analysis and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases in animal trade. In 2021 Dr. Cardenas will join the lab as a Postdoctoral fellow at North Carolina State University, working to investigate the occurrence and spread of animal infectious diseases, especially transboundary disease, providing science-based support for decision making with regard to prevention and control. Dr. Cardenas's research is focused on mathematical modelling, biostatistics, geoprocessing in order to support decision making with regard to prevention and control of infectious diseases.
Abagael Sykes, MSc, BSc
she/her/hers
Graduate Student
alsykes4 (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0003-3751-1798
@AbbySykesML
abby142
Abagael graduated with a BSc in Biological Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College, UK, in 2019 and went on to graduate with a MSc in Epidemiology from Imperial College London, UK, in 2020.
During both her BSc and MSc, Abagael was involved in modeling the seroprevalence of neglected zoonotic diseases such as Toxoplasma gondii and Echinococcus granulosus, as well as contributing to COVID-19 research on non-pharmaceutical interventions. Additionally, during her BSc, Abagael spent a year in the pharmaceutical industry researching animal models of infectious disease.
At the start of 2021, Abagael started her PhD in Population Health and Pathobiology at North Carolina State University, within the Machado lab with a research focus in machine learning and bio-security in swine disease. Additional research interests include transmission and genetic modeling of infectious zoonotic disease.
Felipe Sanchez, MSc, MHS, Bsc
he/him/his
Graduate Student
Fe-Sa
Felipe Sanchez graduated with a Bsc in Biology from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, San German Campus, in 2011. He later obtained a MSc in Animal Sciences, an MHS in Environmental and Global Health, and a graduate certificate in Geospatial Analysis from the University of Florida.
After completing his graduate studies, Felipe joined the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), where he served as the lead Aquatic Field Ecologist for three years. During his time at NEON, Felipe became a certified Data Carpentry instructor, served as an instructor for several NEON Data Science workshops, and collaborated on maintaining and creating online NEON data skills tutorials.
Felipe will be joining the Machado lab as a PhD student in the Center for Geospatial Analytics in the Summer of 2021. His research will focus on using machine learning tools to investigate the spread of infectious swine diseases to support biosecurity and disease control and prevention.
Cameron Ellington, DVM
she/her/hers
Graduate Student and Resident
cahinso2 (at) ncsu.edu
cahinso2
Dr. Cameron Ellington is a 2020 graduate of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in Athens, GA. Prior to attending veterinary school, Dr. Ellington earned her bachelors of science degree in animal and pre-veterinary sciences at Clemson University.
Following graduation from veterinary school, Dr. Ellington started a dual residency and masters program at North Carolina State University in July 2020 in an effort to focus her veterinary knowledge on poultry. Dr. Ellington had the opportunity to collaborate with the Machado Lab to study the prevalence and transmission of Salmonella within a commercial turkey flock through the use of historical data analyzed with modeling software.
Dr. Ellington plans to work as a veterinarian in commercial turkey production following completion of her residency and masters degree in July 2022.
Kelsey Mills
she/her/hers
Project manager (RABapp)
krmills4 (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0002-1843-2587
@kelrmills
kelrmills
Kelsey Mills is currently a graduate student in the Center for Geospatial Analytics at North Carolina State University. She graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor's degree in anthropology, concentrating in archaeology and biological anthropology.
Kelsey's research interests are in the application of geospatial technologies to agricultural science and cultural resource management. In 2014, she participated in an archaeological excavation of a prehistoric site in western NC and assisted in the management of faunal artifacts. In addition to anthropological research and experiences, Kelsey has also conducted research into areas such as the spread of invasive species used in agriculture management through flooding and hydrologic modeling of storm water runoff as it relates to the spread of animal disease. Currently, Kelsey is assisting in the application of geospatial modeling as a means to limit the spread of swine diseases.
Kelsey is supported by APHIS grant.
Madison Joyce
she/her/hers
Research Assistant (RABapp)
mvjoyce (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0001-7552-6144
machado-lab
I am undergraduate student at NC State University double majoring in Animal Science: Veterinary Bioscience and Zoology. I am an out of state student from Lansdale, Pennsylvania and I and will be applying to veterinary school in a year. I am a research assistant for the RABapp project working with Geographic Information Systems to prevent the spread of disease in swine. In regards to activities outside the lab, I am a University Ambassador, a University Scholar, and a member of the marching band at NC State. I am particularly fascinated by animal behavior and how it intersects with ecology and genetics.
Madison is supported by APHIS grant.
Allyson Freeman
she/her/hers
Research Assistant (RABapp)
afreema5 (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0001-9185-9600
Scholar Citations
@AllysonFreeman_
Allyson-F
Allyson Freeman is an undergraduate at NC State majoring in Geology from Wake Forest, North Carolina.
In addition to her work in the lab, she has an interest in topics surrounding water quality and hopes to pursue further education in Geospatial Analytics.
Allyson is supported by APHIS grant.
Grace Winesett
she/her/hers
Research Assistant (RABapp)
gawinese (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0002-6980-9655
Gwinesett
Grace Winesett is an undergraduate at NC State majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Global Health. Her research interests are in the transmission of diseases and she hopes to pursue a graduate degree in epidemiology. Grace also has research experience in biochemistry where she has studied the roles of endosymbionts in virus transmission by whiteflies. When not studying or in the lab, Grace enjoys hiking and being outdoors.
Grace is supported by APHIS grant.
Alyssa Valentine
she/her/hers
Research Assistant (RABapp)
alvalent (at) ncsu.edu
0000-0001-7552-6144
gustavo-etal
Alyssa Valentine is currently a student at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She also attended NCSU as an undergraduate and majored in Animal Science with a Pre-Veterinary concentration.
During her undergraduate career she led her own project in a Reproductive Physiology lab, using genetics to study physiology. As a veterinary student, she has an Epidemiology and Public Health focus. She is an Adel A. Malak Scholar and will be entering the USDA with FSIS after graduation. Alyssa hopes to eventually return to graduate school and pursue a PhD in Epidemiology. Her goal is to work with CEAH at the USDA APHIS.
Alyssa is supported by APHIS grant.
João Marcos N. da Costa (external)
he/him/his
Graduate Student (International)
jmnacif (at) gmail.com
machado-lab
Graduated in Veterinary Medicine from Universidade Federal Fluminense and Master in Veterinary Sciences from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. He is currently the Federal Agricultural Auditor of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. Has experience in Veterinary Medicine, with emphasis on Inspection of Animal Products, Veterinary Pathology and Animal Disease Diagnosis.
Currently, João is in working with Dr. Machado on a transmission network model for the 2000 and 2001 foot‐and‐mouth disease outbreaks in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Collaborators
| Who are they | University |
|---|---|
| Dr Joaquin M. Prada | University of Surey |
| Dr Chris Jones | North Carolina State University. |