Kimberly VanderWaal  DVM

Dr. Kimberly VanderWaal is an assistant professor in veterinary population medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota.  She is a disease ecologist and epidemiologist who has worked extensively on understanding transmission of pathogens in animal populations.  Her research interests relate to the use of mathematical modeling, phylogenetic approaches and animal movement data to improve surveillance, prevention, and control of infectious pathogens of cattle and swine.  She has spearheaded projects related to the use of animal movement data to simulate the spread of diseases at regional and national levels.  These models have been used to develop targeted control strategies for bovine tuberculosis and to understand the spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PED),  porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRS), and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).