Alessandra Nava
For almost a decade, Dr. Alessandra Nava has dedicated her life to the field of conservation medicine in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, working with sentinel species such as jaguars, ocelots and peccaries. A native of Brazil, Dr. Nava is a veterinarian with a passion for wildlife and public health and she is also a member of the IUCN Peccaries specialist group.
As a Senior Consultant Scientist, Dr. Nava leads research efforts on EcoHealth Alliance's PREDICT project in Brazil. The PREDICT program monitors and identifies pathogens in "hot spot" locations in Brazil. These hot spots are generally where wildlife, livestock and human interaction mix. Dr. Nava will compile field data to develop new predictive models that will be tested in the field. Her goal is to also build capacity by providing training and access to new technologies in communications, information management, sample collection and handling, and pathogen identification. Dr. Nava's work will build on current surveillance activities to identify high priority pathogens including retroviruses, orthomyxoviruses (influenza), coronaviruses (SARS-like viruses), henipaviruses, and filoviruses (i.e. Ebola and Marburg).
A graduate from the University of São Paulo, Dr. Nava earned her Ph.D in Epidemiology. Her dissertation research focused on the inter-connectivity of humans, wildlife, and ecosystem with a focus on diseases that jump from domesticated animals and the possible spill over to wild species. The close proximity of agricultural practices in Brazil to forest areas makes the threat of emerging diseases even greater.
Previously, Dr. Nava conducted an outreach program for the local settlers living around the forest fragments to help improve the health of their livestock and implement an animal welfare campaign. The goal of the program was to control the number of domestic animals around protected areas to decrease the risk of new diseases infiltrating the native wildlife.