About me
Background
My name is Raquel (Rack-el) and I come from the bustling metropolis of Miami Florida, however I prefer the quiet of the mountains to the coast. By trade I am a veterinarian and while I enjoy clinical medicine, I am most passionate about wildlife disease research. Specifically zoonosis and reverse zoonosis.
Past Research
Some of my past research topics include: SARS-CoV-2 in North American Wildlife, the Burden and Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in White Stork, and most recently the epidemiology of Sarcoptic mange in American black bears.
Course Goals
I consider myself passable at best in regard to coding and statistical analysis. I hope to use this course as a tool to better understand, visualize, and interpret my often “messy” wildlife field data.
Fun Fact
My spouse and I own 9 chickens. All are hens, all have names, and all come running when you call out “Ladies!”.
Weird Fact
Recently it was discovered that California Condors can undergo pathenogenesis, where in a female can create a fertile egg without a male. This was discovered due to continuous genetic analysis of captive-bred condor chicks. While both chicks survived infancy, neither survived to sexual maturity. Bringing into questions, what is the evolutionary advantage of this process IF males are present.