Collin O'Connor

Education:

BS: Biological Sciences, 2018, SUNY at Albany

MS: Epidemiology, 2020, SUNY at Albany

Research Interests:

Medical Entomology, Spatial Epidemiology, Vector Ecology, Tickborne Disease

Grants and Awards:

2023 University at Buffalo Excellence in Teaching Award for Graduate Students 

Recent Courses Taught:

GEO 211 - Univariate Statistics in Geography

GEO 411 - Multivariate Statistics in Geography

Publications:

O’Connor, C., et al. (2023). Assessing the impact of areal unit selection and the modifiable areal unit problem on associative statistics between cases of tick-borne disease and entomological indices. J Med Entomol., tjad157. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjad157

O’Connor C., et al. A Comparative Spatial and Climate Analysis of Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis and Human Babesiosis in New York State (2013 – 2018). Hamer S, ed. J Med Entomol. Published online July 21, 2021: tjab107. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjab107

Prusinski, M. A., O'Connor , C. et al. (2023). Associations of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Bacteria Variants in Ixodes scapularis Ticks and Humans, New York, USA. Emerg Infect Dis., 29(3), 540-550. doi: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2903.220320

Russell, A., O’Connor, C., Lasek-Nesselquist, E., et al. Spatiotemporal Analyses of 2 Co-Circulating SARS-CoV-2 Variants, New York State, USA. Emerg Infect Dis., 28(3). https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2803.211972

Russell A, Prusinski M. A., Sommer J, O’Connor C, et al. Epidemiology and Spatial Emergence of Anaplasmosis, New York, USA, 2010‒2018. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021;27(8):2154-2162. doi: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2708.210133

Dupuis A. P., Prusinski M. A., Russell A., O’Connor C., et al. Serologic Survey of Mosquito-Borne Viruses in Hunter-Harvested White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), New York State. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020;104(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-1090

Dupuis, A. P., Prusinski, M. A., O’Connor, C., et al. (2021). Heartland Virus Transmission, Suffolk County, New York, USA. Emerg Infect Dis., 27(12), 3128–3132. doi: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2712.211426

Dupuis, A. P., Prusinski, M. A., O'Connor, C., et al. Bourbon virus transmission, New York State. Emerg Infect Dis. 29(1), 145-148. doi: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2901.220283

Foley M., O'Connor, C., et al. Spatiotemporal distribution of Borrelia miyamotoi (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) and coinfection with other tick-borne pathogens in host-seeking Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) from New York State, USA. J Med Entomol., 60(4), 808–821. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjad054

Bio:

Collin O’Connor is a second year PhD student in the Health Geography program. He holds a Master of Science in Epidemiology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University at Albany. Collin conducts field sampling of active adult and nymphal ticks around Western New York. His current and past projects have examined various tick-borne diseases and infected tick specimens for spatial autocorrelation. Additionally, Collin has studied how tick-borne disease ecology and epidemiology are influenced by climate in New York State regions. Other research project topics include mosquito-borne diseases and COVID-19. Collin hopes to expand his research into the spatial dynamics and dynamic modeling of tick-borne disease, specifically examining how biodiversity may change the risk for tick-borne disease.