Mekala Sundaram

Mekala Sundaram, PhD is an Assistant Professor appointed by Infectious Diseases and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. A quantitative ecologist by training, she began her academic path at the University of Mumbai where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Sciences and Biochemistry. Her love of ecology led her to pursue a Master of Science in Conservation Biology at Central Michigan University and further a PhD in Quantitative Ecology from Purdue University’s Forestry and Natural Resources program. Rigorous quantitative skills are required to address all scientific problems today. She has developed a strong background in quantitative work by applying her skillsets to problems in different disciplines, especially during her postdoctoral programs at Brown University, Stanford University, University of Georgia and Oklahoma State University.

Sundaram has worked on complex statistical scientific problems at the interface of ecology, infectious diseases, biochemistry, plant pathology, paleoecology, economics, social sciences, genetics and geography. She uses data mining and advanced statistical tools to explore which animal reservoirs harbor pathogens, where infectious diseases occur and how pathogens spread across hosts. Her skillsets include a wide range of techniques including maximum likelihood models, bayesian approaches, data mining, text mining and machine learning approaches. Her current research interests include disease forecasting and quantifying zoonotic potential of species across the globe.