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Parasites, Primates, and People: Unraveling Infectious Disease
Parasites, Primates, and People: Unraveling Infectious Disease
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 | 5:00 PM ET
Event Details
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Date: Tue, Dec 2, 2025
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Time: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM ET
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Location: Virtual Event
About the Event
Billions of people and animals around the world suffer from gastrointestinal parasite infections. Medications and procedures do exist, but disease management strategies are even more effective if we understand the individual, social, and environmental factors that drive patterns of parasitic infection in wild animal populations. Parasites may also have affected human and primate evolution, which is important to understand when developing multispecies strategies.
Megan’s research examines these factors in wild Costa Rican capuchin monkeys and will talk about the genetic and microscopic techniques she uses to determine how, and why, parasitic infections are acquired and spread. Join us and learn about field and lab techniques, important infectious disease strategies, and recent updates and findings that you can bring back to your students!
About the Speaker
Megan Henriquez, PhD (she/her) is a PRODiG+ (pronounced prodigy plus) postdoctoral fellow in biology at Farmingdale State College where she studies the gastrointestinal parasites of wild Costa Rican capuchin monkeys. She pairs microscopy and genetics to explore what factors contribute to the acquisition and transmission of biologically important parasites, like tapeworms and lungworms. Her local research and outreach empowers NYC youth to appreciate and ask questions about the nature all around them in the urban jungle.
Register for this Free Event
About the SNIPPETS Series
SNIPPETS (STEM News, Innovation, and Professional Practice – Educator and Teacher Series) is a chance for STEMteachersNYC members to meet and talk with professional researchers, scientists, technicians, and others involved in current research and development projects. Think of it as part seminar series and part current events. Learn a little (a snippet, if you viewill!) about exciting people and projects that you may then share with your students, colleagues, friends/family, or that you may just ponder and revel in on your own.
When inviting speakers, we are aiming for diversity in fields, backgrounds, educational and employment levels to represent the full spectrum of professionals. Presentations will be short, and plenty of Q&A time will be available. And importantly, attendees do not have to prepare anything - just register and show up with your inquisitive hat on.
December 2 @ 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
