- Associate Professor
- Biological Sciences
- Phone: 401.874.2178
- Email: ncouret@uri.edu
- Office Location: Office: Woodward 210A
- Website
Research
Our lab focuses on the ecology and biology of arthropod vectors, arthropod-microbe symbioses, and the role of environmental factors such as temperature on both vector biology and vector-borne disease epidemiology. We use an interdisciplinary approach to understand vector biology and ecology and vector-pathogen interactions in ticks and mosquitoes. Using a whole animal experimental approach, we test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses to better understand vector-microbe-host associations to understand the forces that shape these associations and their implications for the transmission of vector-borne disease. Our group also uses geospatial and statistical modeling to explore disease dynamics as they relate to climatic and anthropogenic changes for diseases such as Dengue, Eastern Encephalitis, and West Nile virus.
Education
Ph.D. (2014) in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Emory University
M.E.M. (2006) in Environmental and Public Health
Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment
A.B. (2004) in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Princeton University
Selected Publications
- Couret, J, Dyer, M.C., Mather, T.N., Han S., Tsao, J.I., Lebrun, R.A., Ginsberg, H.S. 2017. 54(4): 1055-1060. Acquisition of Borrelia burgdorferi Infection by Larval Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Associated with Engorgement Measures. Journal of Medical Entomology. (Doi: 10.1093/jme/tjx053)
- Fournier, K. A., Couret, J., Ramsay, J. B. and Caulkins, J. L. 2017. Using collaborative two-stage examinations to address test anxiety in a large enrollment gateway course. American Association of Anatomists (Anatomical Sciences Education). doi:10.1002/ase.1677
- Couret, J, Benedict, MQ. 2014. Meta-analysis of environmental factors affecting development rate and survival in Aedes aegypti. BMC Ecology 14(3):1-15.
- Couret, J, Benedict MQ, Doston, EM. 2014. Temperature, density, and diet interact to influence larval development of Aedes aegpyti. PLoS ONE 9(2), e87468.
- Couret, J Meta-analysis of factors affecting ontogenetic development rate in the Culex pipiens complex. Environmental Entomology. 42 (4), 614-626.
- Gardner, WA, Blount, JL, Golec, JR, Jones, WA, Hu, XP, Talamas, EJ, Evans, RM, Dong, X, Ray, CH, Buntin, DG, Gerardo, NM, Couret, J. Discovery of Paratelenomus saccharalis (Dodd) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), an Egg Parasitoid of Megacopta cribraria F. (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) in its Expanded North American Range. J. Entomol. Sci. 48(4), 355-359.
- Yoshioka, M; Couret, J; Kim, F; McMillan, J; Burkot, TR; Dotson, EM; Kitron, U.; Vazquez-Prokopec, GM. 2012. Diet and density competition affect larval performance and oviposition site selection in the mosquito species Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasites and Vectors. 5:225.
- Gesquiere, LR; Altmann, J; Khan, MZ; Couret, J; Yu, JC, Endres, CS; Lynch, JW; Ogala, P; Fox, EA; Alberts, SC; Wango, EO. 2005. Coming of age: steroid hormones of wild immature baboons (Papio cynocephalus). American Journal of Primatology. Sep; 67 (1): 83-100.
Courses
BIO 102 Principles of Biology II
BIO/ENT 385 Introductory Entomology
BIO/ENT 286 Humans, Insects, and Disease
BIO 482G Evolutionary Medicine