Spring/Summer 2013 Aesculapian Magazine - University of Georgia ...

StudentNews
Julie Rushmore in Uganda for part of her dissertation work. Photo provided by Julie Rushmore.
Q&A with
Julie Rushmore
Julie Rushmore is enrolled in the CVM’s DVM-PhD dual
degree program. She just completed her PhD in ecology,
and begins her DVM program this fall.
Where are you from and what brought you to UGA
I grew up in Alpharetta, Ga. From 2002 to 2006, I attended
Duke University for undergraduate training in biological
anthropology. After Duke, I came to the University of
Georgia for its top-notch College of Veterinary Medicine
and highly-ranked Ecology PhD program (based in the
UGA Odum School of Ecology). I was first admitted to
UGA’s CVM program in 2006, but I deferred for a year
to gain some additional research experience. In 2007, I
applied to UGA’s DVM-PhD dual degree program and
started work on my PhD program in the Odum School of
Ecology.
You graduated in May 2013 with a PhD from the UGA
Odum School of Ecology. What did you study/research
My dissertation work focuses on how social behavior
affects pathogen transmission and control in wild
primates. After spending a year in Uganda collecting
non-invasive biological samples and behavioral data for
a community of wild chimpanzees, I used 1) molecular
approaches to detect novel chimpanzee sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), and, 2) quantitative modeling
techniques to simulate pathogen spread based on
behavioral data. With these models, my colleagues and
I evaluated the efficacy of several disease intervention
strategies. Notably, we used network analysis to identify
“risk groups,” such as highly-sociable adult females, that
should be targeted in disease control efforts for a variety of
pathogen types (e.g., respiratory infections, STDs, Ebola).
As compared to randomized vaccination, our modeling
showed that targeting highly-social individuals could
curtail large disease outbreaks while reducing the number
of individuals requiring vaccination by up to 35 percent.
Such a reduction could substantially decrease the logistical
and financial pressures associated with disease control
programs, particularly in the context of endangered
wildlife populations. Importantly, the techniques that we
used can readily be applied to other species, including
humans.
What prompted you to pursue a dual DVM-PhD degree
During my four years of undergraduate training at Duke
University, I was involved with several ongoing projects
at the Duke Lemur Center, including behavioral research
projects and a veterinary assistant position to help with
lemur health checks. Through this experience, I became
increasingly interested in wildlife behavior, ecology and
health.
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The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine