I am an associate professor in the department of Pathobiology and regional director of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) Ontario/Nunavut at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. After completing a BSc in Wildlife Biology at the University of Guelph and an MSc in Ecology at the University of British Columbia, I worked for a wildlife consulting company before returning to school to obtain a DVM and a PhD from the University of Saskatchewan. My PhD research was focused on studying the ecology of Bartonella infections in wild rodent populations. My research program is focused on understanding the ecology of zoonotic pathogens in wildlife populations and ticks and tick-borne pathogens. In addition to my research activities, I am also involved in teaching wildlife and ecosystem health courses in the DVM program and a graduate course in the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases.
Areas of Interest
Comparative Pathology: Wildlife and ecosystem health; Ecology of diseases in wild animal populations; Rodent and vector borne zoonotic diseases
- Ecology of zoonotic diseases in wild animal populations;
- Rodent and vector borne zoonotic diseases;
- Wildlife health
Research
Research in my lab is focused on the ecology of multi-host pathogens, particularly zoonotic pathogens.
We are currently focusing on 2 main areas:
- Understanding the role of different wildlife hosts in maintaining and transmitting multi-host pathogens, and
- Understanding how biotic and abiotic factors affect the distribution of ticks and tick-borne pathogens.
Our goal is to better understand how pathogens are maintained, transmitted, and how they spread in order to generate a scientific basis for disease preparedness and prevention strategies aimed at controlling infectious diseases affecting humans and livestock.
Prospective Students
We are always looking for motivated graduate and undergraduate students to join our research group. If you think you might be interested in joining our group please send me an email (cjardi01@uoguelph.ca) with a statement of interest, your CV, and unofficial transcripts.