| Academic Year | 2023-2024 |
| n.mcauley.24@abdn.ac.uk | |
| Institution | University of Aberdeen |
Biography
Pronouns: She/her
Name pronunciation: N-eve
School: School of Biological Sciences
Project: The Health and Well-Being Effects of Pest Rodent Management Strategies in Rural Madagascar
Supervisors: Dr Sandra Telfer & Dr Luis Loria Rebolledo
Undergraduate Education: BSc Biological Science, Imperial College London
Postgraduate Education: MRes Molecular & Cellular Biosciences, Imperial College London
Research: Globally, rodents present a multisectoral threat to public health, socioeconomic activities, and biodiversity, all of which comes with an economic cost. Previous studies have estimated that rodents cost the USA US$ 19 billion and Asia US$ 1.9 billion annually from both damage and control measures, with the majority of reported costs coming from the agriculture sector. However, translating losses from non-commercial sectors like public health into monetary values is difficult, especially in countries where health care is expensive and underutilised by the majority of the population.
During my PhD, I will be looking at how the health burden presented by invasive rodents in Madagascar, through disease and malnutrition, can be translated into an economic burden. This will be done by working closely with rural communities in Madagascar to evaluate the prevalence, severity, and risk factors of rodent-borne diseases. I also hope to explore whether we can forecast how the health and economic burdens will change with climate change.
The following are links to articles relevant to this area of research:
- Economic costs of invasive rodents worldwide: the tip of the iceberg – PMC (nih.gov)
- Living with rodent pests : unifying stakeholder interests to prioritise pest management in rural Madagascar (abdn.ac.uk)
- Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health – PubMed (nih.gov)
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