The objective of this line of research is to study how changes in landscape and land use impact the transmission of parasites and their associated diseases, both directly and through the modification of biodiversity. To achieve this, we combine the analysis of some of the most extensive databases currently available with statistical models, machine learning techniques, epidemiological models, and numerical and agent-based simulations. This study is particularly relevant for understanding spillover phenomena (the transmission of pathogens to species that did not initially carry them) and for contributing to the design of public health policies focused on zoonoses (infectious diseases that have jumped from animals to humans). This broad project is being developed in the context of an international and multidisciplinary collaboration among researchers from various universities and research centers in Spain and Brazil.
DEFE Researcher: Luis A. Martínez Vaquero.