About Us
Principle Investigator
Alda Pires (DVM, MPVM, PhD, DACVPM)
Dr. Pires is an Associate Specialist in Cooperative Extension for Urban Agriculture and food safety in Population Health & Reproduction at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. She is interested in applying and developing epidemiological tools to support risk-based surveillance and infectious disease control strategies that improve animal health and food safety.
PhD Student
Sejin Cheong (DVM, MPVM, PhD Candidate)
Awarded CRWAD 2020
Sejin is a Ph.D. candidate in epidemiology, currently working with Dr. Pires on a multi-state crop-livestock integration farming systems project. Her interests include epidemiological and statistical approaches to livestock animal health and zoonotic infectious disease data. One day she also hopes to expand her research on improving the management of food animals in the aspects of nutrition and security of food and clinical human chronic diseases.
PhD Student
Kefang Nie (BVSc, MPVM, PhD student)
Kefang is currently a Ph.D. student in epidemiology. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science at Nanjing Agricultural University, China. She is working with Dr. Pires on data analysis about fresh produce grown in manure-amended soil in organic farms. In the future, Kefang hopes to work on epidemiological and statistical approaches to food-borne disease pathogens on organic farms.
PhD Student
Yitong Huang (BVSc, MPVM, PhD Student)
Yitong is a Ph.D. student in epidemiology with an interest in disease modeling, particularly in risk assessment methodologies. During her MPVM program at UC Davis, she conducted pivotal research on the risk assessment of African Swine Fever's potential introduction into China through prohibited pork and pork products transported by air passengers. She further expanded her expertise by delving into a semi-quantitative risk assessment of chronic wasting disease in California deer, specifically examining hunter pathways.
Currently, Yitong is collaborating with Dr. Pires on food safety research. Her project aims to emphasize a quantitative risk assessment framework for organic soil amendments, contributing crucial insights into agricultural practices and food safety protocols.
Junior Specialist (Lab Manager)
LaZaria McWright
LaZaria is currently a junior specialist and lab manager at Pires Lab. She graduated from UC Davis with her Bachelors degree in 2022 in Animal Science with a specialization in Animal Behavior. She is interested in the intersection of pathology and behavior and hopes to earn her PhD to better understand how certain diseases can affect behavioral patterns in both domestic and wild animals.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Joanna G. Rothwell (PhD)
Dr. Joanna G. Rothwell is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Dr. Pires's Lab, specializing in food safety research and microbiology. Dr. Rothwell will be working with the Pires Lab to assess the food safety impacts of integrated crop-livestock systems in organic orchards. Prior to this, Dr. Rothwell completed a Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Sydney, Australia with a project investigating the efficacy of current and novel postharvest treatments in fresh produce production. Dr. Rothwell’s primary research interests include reducing foodborne pathogens in fresh food, promoting sustainable farming practices, and exploring the intersections between food safety, animal agriculture, and human health.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Pablo Gomez (DVM, MPVM, PhD)
Pablo a project scientist working at UC Davis. His research focuses on the development and implementation of user friendly and open access simulation modeling tools for disease surveillance and control. His main project with the Pires lab involves the development of tools for informing the risk of microbial contamination of crops in California.
When he is not working on research, Pablo enjoys playing music and going on hikes.
Website: https://www.spablo-temporal.ne
Undergraduate Student Assistant
Alexandria Hernandez
Alexandria is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Animal Science with a plan to specialize in Livestock and Dairy. She is interested in Veterinary Health and hopes to pursue a career in Mixed Practice Veterinary Medicine. Currently, she's expanding her interests within the field of One Health through Veterinary Science, either with research on zoonotic infectious diseases, food safety, or others associated with Animal Agriculture and/or wildlife.
Outside of the lab she enjoys spending quality time with friends, arts and crafts, traveling, and listening to music.