ANDREA SWEI
University of California, Berkeley
Department of Integrative Biology
3060 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140
Berkeley, CA 94720-3140
phone:(510) 643-5782
e-mail: swei@berkeley.edu
EDUCATION
2003-2009
1996-2000
University of California, Berkeley
Department of Integrative Biology, PhD candidate (award date: April 23, 2009)
Advisors: Dr. Cheryl Briggs and Dr. Wayne Sousa
Thesis title: Impacts of an introduced plant pathogen on the ecology of Lyme
disease in California
University of California, Berkeley
Awarded B.A. degree in Department of Integrative Biology with Honors, May 2000
GPA: 3.5
HONORS AND AWARDS
2007
2005
2005
2004
2000
2000
Burroughs Wellcome Travel Scholarship recipient
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship recipient
American Society of Mammalogists, Grants in Aid of Research recipient
Sigma Xi, Grants in Aid of Research recipient
Received B.A. with honors from the department of Integrative Biology, University of
California, Berkeley.
Undergraduate research honors thesis: Historic and ongoing population genetics of the
pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus).
PUBLICATIONS
2008
2008
2005
2003
Swei, A.; Salkeld, D.; Killilea, M.; Ostfeld, R.; Lane, R.; Briggs, C. In review. Ecological
heterogeneity of Lyme disease and impacts of changing world. Frontiers in Ecology and
the Environment.
Killilea, M. E., A. Swei, R.S. Lane, C.J. Briggs, and R.S. Ostfeld. 2008. Spatial dynamics
of Lyme disease: A review. EcoHealth, 5(2): 167-195.
Lloyd-Smith, J.O.; Cross, P.C.; Briggs, C.J.; Daugherty, M.; Getz, W.M.; Latto, J.;
Sanchez, M.S.; Smith, A.B.; Swei, A. Should we expect population thresholds
in wildlife disease? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20 (9); 511-519.
Swei, A., Brylski, P.V., Spencer, W.D., Dodd, S.C., Patton, J.L. 2003. Hierarchical
genetic structure in fragmented populations of the little pocket mouse (Perognathus
longimembris) in Southern California. Conservation Genetics 4; 501-514.
PROFESSIONAL MEETING
2007
2007
2006
2004
2003, 1999
Ecology of Infection Diseases, Principal Investigators meeting, Albuquerque, NM- Oral
presentation
Ecological Society of America, San Jose, CA- poster presentation
Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, GA-poster presentation
Ecological Society of America, Portland, OR
Bay Area Conservation Biology Symposium, Society for Conservation Biology
2
2000
1998
Asian Herpetological Society, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Berkeley, CA
International Society for Behavioral Ecology, Monterey, CA
TEACHING
2007
2004-2005
2003-2004
1999
1997
Graduate Student Instructor: Biology of Tropical Islands (IB158), Moorea French
Polynesia research station, UC Berkeley – This course is a full-immersion, study abroad
program. As one of the key instructors, I worked with students to develop their research
question and design. I was also responsible for advising them in their data analysis, paper
write up and presentation.
Graduate Student Instructor: Natural History of the Vertebrates (IB104), UC BerkeleyResponsibilities of this course included weekly labs and field trips to study faunal
diversity of California’s vertebrates. I led labs on the identification of museum specimens
and assisted in field trips that explored local habitats and introduced students to vertebrate
sampling techniques.
Graduate Student Instructor: Biology-Field ecology section (Bio 1b), UC BerkeleyInstructed the design and implementation of student field ecology projects. My
responsibilities included assisting students with devising testable ecological questions and
implementing suitable methodology. I was also responsible for gathering necessary
permits and materials to carry out their research. Project results were then shared with the
department in an end-of-term presentation.
Undergraduate Student Instructor: UC Berkeley- I assisted with instruction of
laboratory material in an upper division Mammalogy course (IB 173). Lab instruction
consisted of helping students identify all extant mammals in the world to the family level.
Undergraduate Student Instructor; UC Berkeley- I assisted in special field laboratory
course of introductory Biology 1B class. Instructed and supervised students conducting
field research projects. Responsibilities included regular monitoring of small mammal
traps at Richmond Field Station and editing and grading of students’ scientific research
papers.
EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH
2008-2009
2003
2001-2002
1998-2001
Graduate Student Researcher on NSF Ecology of Infectious Disease grant: UC
Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology. I have developed and implemented lab and
field experiments studying the ecology of Lyme disease. Laboratory duties include real
time PCR techniques and lab xenodiagnosis. Field duties include small mammal, lizard,
and tick sampling and collections.
Research Associate: UC Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology- Worked on
HerpNET grant, a collaborative project between global institutions to create a network
between herpetology databases. My duties included translating Chinese from specimen
tags and using GIS technology, maps, and collector field notes to georeference specimens
from numerous institution and museum collections.
Lab manager/research assistant: UC Berkeley, Environmental Science Policy and
Management- Managed Professor Robert Lane’s molecular lab. I used molecular methods
such as PCR, RFLP, and sequencing to characterize tick-borne diseases such as the Lyme
disease causing bacteria. My work supported the ecological and epidemiological work in
the lab.
Lab technician; UC Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology - Worked in Professor
Jim Patton’s DNA lab. I used molecular methods to assess relationships between
populations of endangered rodents. My role in project involved lab work, including
extraction and preparation of DNA, and analysis of sequence data for population-level
comparison.
3
1999
1998
Field Research Assistant: Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New YorkConducted field work for Dr. Richard Ostfeld, studying the ecology of small mammal
abundance and distribution in a patchy oak/maple landscape and the prevalence of Lyme
disease in tick populations in upstate New York. I was also responsible for lab immunoassays of spirochetal bacteria.
Field Research Assistant: American Museum of Natural History Southwestern Research
Station, Arizona- Assisted Professor David Pfennig in spadefoot toad tadpole behavior
research. I was involved in project design and execution. In addition, I conducted an
independent experiment to test species-related preference for developing carnivory.