Brooklin Hunt, DVM/PhD

“How is bat health related to spillover, and how can we develop our understanding of bat health?”

Reservoir health and immune function have been shown to be critically important in the process of pathogen spillover yet remain poorly understood in every bat virus spillover system. I hope to improve our empirical understanding of bat health and immune defense by studying the hematology of Australian black flying foxes (Pteropus alecto), a highly competent reservoir of Hendra virus. 
Hematology is simply the study of blood, and by characterizing and quantifying blood cells I can gather valuable information on the physiological status and immune function of bats. Recently I have been examining the impact of age, sex, time of year, and other variables on the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio of these bats. 
Overall, my work is expanding our empirical knowledge of bat health and immune defense, which will allow a better understanding of the relationships between bat health and pathogen spillover. I hope that someday we will understand these relationships well enough to develop effective countermeasures to stop bat virus spillover. 

Education:
Montana State University — Bozeman, Montana (Aug 2018 — May 2023)
Bachelor of Science: Pre-veterinary Microbiology and Animal Systems Biotechnology (dual major), Animal Genetics minor, summa cum laude

Iowa Wesleyan University & Loop Abroad — Online (2020)
Online courses: Elephant Medicine, African Big Cat Biology

Cornell University Summer College — Ithaca, New York (2017)
Captive Raptor Management & Propagation

Texas A&M University — Online (2016)
Veterinary Assisting (Level I)

Twitter: @Brooklin-Hunt