Biography
Dr. Epstein’s research interests include the ecology of zoonotic viruses such as Nipah virus, Ebola and SARS; zoonotic disease emergence at the human-animal interface; viral discovery; pathogen discovery; and trade as a mechanism for pathogen pollution. He is part of a large international collaboration that is investigating the ecology of Nipah virus in Bangladesh, where outbreaks occur in people almost every year with mortality rates reaching 90%. The focus of this research is to better understand the factors that cause this lethal virus to emerge, and to develop models that will predict and help prevent future outbreaks.