Kevin J. Olival
Dr. Kevin J. Olival is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist with an interest in emerging infectious diseases and conservation. A Senior Research Scientist with EcoHealth Alliance, he graduated with distinction from Columbia University in 2008 with a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and M.A. in Conservation Biology. His dissertation research focused on the population genetics and geographic distributions of large fruit bats in Southeast Asia, with implications for Nipah virus dynamics and emergence. Kevin has conducted month-long expeditions to Southeast Asia doing fieldwork and managing projects working with local scientists and NGOs. During his studies at Columbia University, Kevin received an Environmental Policy Certificate with a focus on international, environmental and emerging disease policy and had the opportunity to intern in Malaysia with EcoHealth Alliance to learn techniques in wildlife veterinary medicine. Kevin has a passion for turning rigorous science into effective public policy, and aims to keep this as a central goal of his career development.
Prior to joining the team at EcoHealth Alliance, Kevin completed a post-doc at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), working closely with Drs. Susan Perkins and Nancy Simmons investigating the evolution of bats and their associated parasites and pathogens. His work at the AMNH included discovering several new blood-borne parasites in bats; molecular systematics of non-human Plasmodium parasites; meta-analysis of bat species to determine the underlying factors that affect genetic structure and viral diversity; and phylogeny of Pteropus spp. using museum specimens and ancient DNA techniques. Kevin has unique skills in both the field and laboratory that include ecological techniques to capture and survey for bats, experience with satellite telemetry of wildlife, molecular biology, population genetic and phylogenetic analyses, and molecular evolution.
Kevin recently completed a prestigious two-year NIH Fogarty US Global Health Postdoctoral fellowship expanding EcoHealth Alliance's work on the ecology of Nipah virus in Bangladesh. As a Fogarty fellow, Kevin expanded his international career experience in infectious disease epidemiology in developing countries in South and Southeast Asia. Kevin's ongoing work with EcoHealth Alliance focuses on integrating evolutionary and ecological theories to understand the underlying drivers of disease emergence. Specifically, he continues to work on the emergence and ecology of Nipah virus; novel pathogen discovery from bats; predicting the 'unknown' diversity and host-specific patterns of zoonotic pathogens; and developing appropriate policy interventions to prevent the emergence of novel zoonoses.
Publications include:
- Correlates and evolutionary consequences of population genetic structure in bats (In Press) - Evolutionary History of Bats: Fossils, Molecules, and Morphology
- Satellite Telemetry and Long-Range Bat Movements - PLoS One
- Characterization of Nipah virus from Naturally Infected Pteropus vampyrus Bats, Malaysia - Emerging Infectious Disease
- Molecular Identification of Host Feeding Patterns of Snow-Melt Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): Potential Implications for the Transmission Ecology of Jamestown Canyon Virus - Journal of Medical Entomology
- Correlates of Viral Richness in Bats - EcoHealth Journal
- Management of Pteropus vampyrus, a hunted migratory species with a multinational home-range - Journal of Applied Ecology
- Detection of Hepatocystis sp. in Southeast Asian Flying Foxes (Pteropodidae) Using Microscopic and Molecular Methods - Journal of Parasitology
- The Ecology of Emerging Neurotropic Viruses - Journal of Neurovirology