Fidy is now working to build a first-of-its-kind molecular biology lab based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Follow his progress on Twitter or Facebook!
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
I am a wildlife veterinarian interested in the ecological approaches of health and particularly the “One Health” concept and the field of “Conservation Medicine”.
I study the multiple interactions between human, domestic animal and wildlife health in Madagascar. For my PhD, the goal is to evaluate the impact of domestic animals on endemic wildlife. More specifically, I aim to evaluate the dynamics of pathogen transmission between introduced (dogs and cats) and endemic carnivores in the Betampona Natural Reserve, Madagascar.
So far we found that interactions between domestic animals and wildlife are frequent and may lead to disease spillover. Next, we will identify the diseases that are spreading in this carnivore community and study how are they transmitted using advanced molecular and statistical tools and techniques.
EDUCATION:
August 2013 – May 2018: PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Systematics – Department of Biology, University of Missouri – St. Louis, MO, USA
August 2011-May 2013: MS in Epidemiology – Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal – St Hyacinthe, Canada
January 2002- June 2008: DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine – Département d’Enseignement des Sciences et Médecine Vétérinaires, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
PUBLICATIONS:
Rasambainarivo, F.T., Farris, Z.J., Andrianalizah, H.B., Parker, P.G., Interactions between carnivores in Madagascar and the risk of disease transmission. EcoHealth (In press)
Pomerantz, J., Rasambainarivo, F. T., Dollar, L., Rahajanirina, L. P., Andrianaivoarivelo, R., Parker, P., & Dubovi, E. (2016). Prevalence of antibodies to selected viruses and parasites in introduced and endemic carnivores in western madagascar. Journal of wildlife diseases, 52(3), 544-552.
Bodager, J. R., Parsons, M. B., Wright, P. C., Rasambainarivo, F., Roellig, D., Xiao, L., & Gillespie, T. R. (2015). Complex epidemiology and zoonotic potential for Cryptosporidium suis in rural Madagascar. Veterinary parasitology, 207(1), 140-143.
Bublitz, D. C., Wright, P. C., Rasambainarivo, F. T., Arrigo‐Nelson, S. J., Bodager, J. R., & Gillespie, T. R. (2015). Pathogenic enterobacteria in lemurs associated with anthropogenic disturbance. American journal of primatology, 77(3), 330-337.
Zohdy, S., Grossman, M. K., Fried, I. R., Rasambainarivo, F. T., Wright, P. C., & Gillespie, T. R. (2015). Diversity and prevalence of diarrhea-associated viruses in the lemur community and associated human population of Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. International Journal of Primatology, 36(1), 143-153.
Bublitz, D. C., Wright, P. C., Bodager, J. R., Rasambainarivo, F. T., Bliska, J. B., & Gillespie, T. R. (2014). Epidemiology of pathogenic enterobacteria in humans, livestock, and peridomestic rodents in rural Madagascar. PloS one, 9(7), e101456.
Rasambainarivo, F. T., Junge, R. E., & Lewis, R. J. (2014). Biomedical evaluation of Verreaux’s sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) from kirindy Mitea National Park in Madagascar. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 45(2), 247-255.
Rasambainarivo, F. T., Gillespie, T. R., Wright, P. C., Arsenault, J., Villeneuve, A., & Lair, S. (2013). Survey of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in lemurs from the Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 49(3), 741-743.
Rasambainarivo, F. T., & Junge, R. E. (2010). A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of lemurs kept in two zoos in Madagascar. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 41(4), 638-642.
Junge, R. E., Dutton, C. J., Knightly, F., Williams, C. V., Rasambainarivo, F. T., & Louis, E. E. (2008). Comparison of Biomedical Evaluation for White-Fronted Brown Lemurs (Eulemur fulvus albifrons) from Four Sites in Madagascar. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 567-575.