The Goddard Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, Seventh Edition

Author Biography

Gail M. Moraru is currently an instructor of biology at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in biological science from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Veterinary Medical Science from Mississippi State University where she studied the natural history of a novel spotted fever rickettsiosis. Subsequently, she conducted research as a post-doctoral fellow at Haifa University in Israel, looking at how natural and anthropogenic disturbances impact mosquito populations and other aquatic communities. Dr. Moraru’s second post-doctoral position was at Mississippi State University where she investigated rickettsial interference phenomena in ticks. Before coming to Linn-Benton Community College, she worked as a Senior Extension Research Associate at Mississippi State University studying Zika virus vectors throughout the state. Dr. Moraru won the Couvillion endowed graduate scholarship (parasitology), has team-taught veterinary parasitology, wildlife diseases, and several different biology and microbiology classes, and has authored or coauthored over 15 scientific publications. She is a member of the Entomological Society of America, the Southeastern Society of Parasitologists, Mississippi Entomological Association, and the Mississippi Mosquito and Vector Control Association. Her main research interests are disease ecology and parasitology. Dr. Moraru is the daughter of Jewish Romanian immigrants and grew up with her sister in California. She currently resides in Corvallis, OR with her husband and five animals. Jerome Goddard II is currently a professor of mathematics at Auburn University Montgomery (AUM), located in Montgomery, Alabama. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science, and then a Master of Science in Mathematics (both) from Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. He subsequently earned a Ph. D. in Mathematical Sciences from Mississippi State University, specializing in Partial Differential Equations under the supervision of Prof. Ratnasingham Shivaji, currently a W. L. Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus (Mississippi State University) and H. Barton Excellence Professor & Head of the Department of Mathematics (University of North Carolina Greensboro). Jerome’s research interests lie in study of nonlinear boundary value problems with nonlinear boundary conditions. These types of PDEs arise in models from population dynamics and combustion theory. Recently, his research has been externally funded by the National Science Foundation. That collaborative project between mathematicians and an ecologist is an integration of modeling of population dynamics via reaction diffusion models, mathematical analysis, and experimental analysis of an invertebrate (insect) system to explore the effects of habitat fragmentation, conditional dispersal, predation, and interspecific competition on herbivore population dynamics from the patch level to the landscape level. He has published 18 articles in peer reviewed journals and has given 60+ presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Goddard is married to Lindsey Carpenter Goddard and, along with Millie, their daughter, they reside in Montgomery, AL. Jerome enjoys spending time with his family and outdoor hobbies including fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, and backpacking. He has an enthusiasm for teaching and research, but his true passion lies in directing student research which combines the two — mathematics and biology.