Headshot of Dr.Jory Brinkerhoff

Dr. Jory Brinkerhoff

Professor of Biology
Curriculum Vitae

  • Profile
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    • Grants and Fellowships

      2018-2019: Fulbright Scholar Fellowship (Japan), ~$45,000 

      2018-2019: USDA Cooperative Agreement, $100,000

      2017-2022: NIH Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases award 1R01AI126035-01, $2,455,904 (UR portion $200,370)

      2017: Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust award, $100,000

      2012-2014: $35,000.  Population genetic structure of the Lyme disease vector, Ixodes scapularis, at a spatial expansion front.  Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust.

    • Presentations

      Asterisks denote undergraduate student co-authors:

      Brinkerhoff, R.J., S. Sato, A. Ota, and S. Maruyama.  Microbiome analysis of monkey lice, potential sylvatic vectors for Bartonella quintana in Japanese macaques.  International Conference on Bartonella as Emerging Pathogens, Paris, France, 2019.

      Brinkerhoff, R.J.  Eco-epidemiology of vector-borne diseases.  Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, 2019

      Brinkerhoff, R.J.  Multidisciplinary approaches to studying tick-borne disease.  Nihon University College of Bioresource Sciences, Fujisawa, Japan, 2018.

      Brinkerhoff, R.J. C. Clark*, K. Ocasio*, W. Hynes, D. Gauthier, M. Gulia-Nuss, and H. Gaff.  Metagenomics and genomics of tick-borne disease in an area of geographic expansion.  Third Siyacabanga on Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 2018

      Brinkerhoff, R.J.  Tracking tick-borne disease in space and time.  Addis Ababa University College of Veterinary Medicine, Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 2018.

      Brinkerhoff, R.J., K. Ocasio*, C. Clark*, W.L. Hynes, and D. Gauthier.  Drivers of tick microbiota.  15th International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and other Tick-Borne Pathogens, Atlanta, GA, 2018. 

      Hollis, E.*, R.J. Brinkerhoff, and S. Sato.  Novel detection of a vector-borne zoonotic bacterium in North America.  7th Mid-Atlantic Tick Summit, Laurel, MD, 2018.

      Michel, M.M.*, K. Ocasio*, and R.J. Brinkerhoff.  Reconstructing historical zoonotic pathogen distributions using archived tissue samples.  9th Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens Conference, Cairns, Australia, 2017.

      Cornman, H.* and R.J. Brinkerhoff.  Multi-locus sequence analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi in an area of increasing Lyme disease incidence.  9th Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens Conference, Cairns, Australia, 2017.

      Brinkerhoff, R.J. Dynamic distributions of ticks and tick-borne disease in Virginia.  Department of Biology, Virginia State University, 2016.

      R.J. Brinkerhoff, E.N. Lane*, I. Wazir*, M. Gimpel, and H. Streby.  Life history characteristics of birds influence patterns of tick parasitism.  Wilson Ornithological Society annual meeting, Williamsburg, VA, 2013. 

      R.J. Brinkerhoff, W.F. Gilliam*, R. Kelly*, and D. Gaines.  Apparent range expansion of Ixodes scapularis in Virginia – inferences from Lyme disease case data and vector phylogenetic analysis.  Second Tick Summit, U.S. Army Public Health Command and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Hanover, MD, 2012.

      W.F. Gilliam andR.J. Brinkerhoff.  Variation in black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) density and pathogen infection prevalence at a spatial expansion front.  Ecological Society of America annual meeting, Portland, OR, 2012.

      Brinkerhoff, R.J.  Variable Ixodes scapularis density and Borrelia burgdorferi infection prevalence along an elevational gradient in central Virginia.  Inaugural Tick Summit, U.S. Army Public Health Command and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Hanover MD, 2011.

  • Selected Publications
    Journal Articles

    Asterisks denote undergraduate student co-authors:

    R.J. Brinkerhoff, H. Rinsland*, S. Sato, S. Maruyama, and C. Ray.  Pathogen spillover into high-elevation populations of a declining mammalian species.  In review.  EcoHealth. 

    Heller, E.L., H.D. Gaff, R.J. Brinkerhoff, and E.L. Walters.  2019.  The effects of urbanization on tick parasitism rates in birds.  Journal of Wildlife Management doi:10.1002/jwmg.21646.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., L. Dang*, H. Streby, and M. Gimpel.  2019.  Bird life history characteristics influence patterns of tick parasitism.  Infection Ecology and Epidemiology 9:1547096.

    Ferrell*, A.M. and R.J. Brinkerhoff.  2018.  Using landscape analysis to test hypotheses about drivers of tick-borne pathogen transmission.  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15: 737

    Tokarz, R., S. Sameroff, T. Tagliafierro, K. Jain, S.H. Williams, D.M. Cucura, I. Rochlin, J. Monzon, G. Capri, D. Tufts, M. Diu-Wasser, R.J Brinkerhoff, W.I. Lipkin.  2018. Identification of novel viruses in Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, and Ixodes scapuarlis ticks. mSphere.3 e00614-17

    Shannon*, A.B., H. Gaff, R. Rucinsky, and R.J. Brinkerhoff.  2017.  Borrelia miyamotoi, other vector-borne pathogens in cat blood and ticks in eastern Maryland.  EcoHealth 14:816-820.

    Ferrell*, A.M., R.J. Brinkerhoff, J. Bernal, and S. Bermudez.  2017.  Ticks and tick-borne pathogens of dogs along an elevational and land-use gradient in Chiriqui Province, Panama.  Experimental and Applied Acarology 71:371-385.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., P.M. Lantos, and D. Gaines.  2016.  Tracking vector-borne disease dynamics in space and time. Proceedings of the Middle East and South Asia Conference on Epigenetics and Genomics of Infectious Diseases, 43-46.

    Hawkins, M.T.R., M.G. Campana, K. Stewardson, J. Lock, K.M. Helgen, H. Young, L. Card, W. L. Hynes, H. Gaff, R.J. Brinkerhoff, J.E. Moldonado, W.J. McShea, and R.C. Fleischer. 2016.  Simultaneous identification of host, vector, and pathogen DNA via in-solution capture.  Molecular Ecology Resources doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.12524

    Salkeld, D.J., P.Stapp, D.W. Tripp, K.L. Gage, J. Lowell, C.T. Webb, R.J. Brinkerhoff, and M.F. Antolin.  2016. Ecological traits driving the outbreak and emergence of zoonotic pathogens. BioScience doi:10.1093/biosci/biv179

    Lantos, P.M., L.E. Nigrovic, P.G. Auwaeter, V. Fowler, F. Ruffin, R.J. Brinkerhoff, J. Reber, C. Williams, J. Broyhill, W. Pan, and D. Gaines. 2015. Rapid expansion of Lyme disease in Virginia, 2000-2014, with implications for North Carolina. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, DOI 10:1093/ofid/ofv143

    van Treuren, W., L. Ponnusamy, R.J. Brinkerhoff, A. Gonzales, C.M. Parobek, J.J. Juliano, T.G. Andreadis, R. Falco, L.B. Ziegler, N. Hathaway, C. Keeler, M. Emch, J.A. Bailey, R.M. Roe, C.S. Apperson, R. Knight, and S.R. Meshnick. 2015. Geographic variation in the microbiota of Ixodes ticks from the eastern United States.  Applied and Environmental Microbiology 81:6200-6209.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., W.F. Gilliam, and D. Gaines.  2014. Lyme Disease, Virginia, USA, 2000–2011.  Emerging Infectious Diseases. 20:1661–1668.

    R.R. Kelly*, W.F. Gilliam*, D. Gaines, and R.J. Brinkerhoff. 2014. Population genetic structure of the Lyme disease vector, Ixodes scapularis, at an apparent spatial expansion front. Infection, Genetics, and Evolution. 27:543-50.

    Florin, D.A., R.J. Brinkerhoff, J. Jiang, R.G. Robbins, W.M. Eickmeyer, J. Butler, D. Nielsen, H. Gaff, C. Wright, A. White, M.E. Gimpel, and A.L. Richards. 2014. Additional collections of the Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae), from the state of Delaware, the first reported field collection of an adult specimen from the state of Maryland, and data regarding the tick species from surveillance of migratory songbirds in Maryland. Systematic and Applied Acarology 19: 257-262.

    States, S.L, R.J. Brinkerhoff, G. Capri, T. Steeves, C. Folsom-O’Keefe, and M.A. Diuk-Wasser. Lyme disease risk not amplified in species-poor vertebrate community: similar Borrelia burgdorferi tick infection prevalence and genotype diversity. Infection, Genetics, and Evolution 27:566-75.

    Lantos, P.M., R.J. Brinkerhoff, G.P. Wormser, and R. Clemen. 2013. Empiric antibiotic treatment of erythema migrans-like skin lesions as a function of geography: a clinical and cost-effectiveness modeling study. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 13:877-883.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., C.M. Folsom-O’Keefe, H.M. Streby, S.J. Bent, K. Tsao, and M.A. Diuk-Wasser. 2013. Regional variation in tick parasitism on migrating North American songbirds: implications for the spread of the Lyme pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi. 2013 . Journal of Medical Entomology 48:422-428.

    Diuk-Wasser, M.A., A.G. Hoen, P. Cislo, R.J. Brinkerhoff, S.A. Hamer, M. Rowland, R. Cortinas, G. Vourc’h, F. Melton, G.J. Hickling, J.I. Tsao, A.G. Barbour, U. Kitron, J. Piesman, and D. Fish. 2012. Human risk of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, in eastern United States. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 86:320-327.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., A.P. Martin, R.T. Jones, and S.K. Collinge. 2011. Population genetic structure of the prairie dog flea and plague vector, Oropsylla hirsuta.  Parasitology 138: 71-79.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., S.J. Bent, C.M. Folsom-O’Keefe, A.G. Hoen, K. Tsao, A. Barbour, and M.A. Diuk-Wasser.  2010.  Genotypic diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi detected in Ixodes scapularis larvae collected from North American songbirds. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 76: 8265-8268.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., H. Kabeya, K. Inoue, Y. Bai, and S. Maruyama. 2010. Detection of multiple Bartonella species in digestive and reproductive tissues of fleas collected from sympatric mammals. The ISME Journal 4: 955-958.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., S.K. Collinge, C. Ray, and K.L. Gage. 2010. Rodent and flea abundance fail to predict plague epizootic in black-tailed prairie dogs.  Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 10: 47-52. (Invited Manuscript)

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., C. M. Folsom-O’Keefe, K. Tsao, and M.A. Diuk-Wasser. 2009. Do birds affect Lyme disease risk? Range expansion of the vector-borne pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 9:103–110.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., S.K. Collinge, Y. Bai, and C. Ray. 2009. Are carnivores universally good sentinels of plague? Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 9: 491-497.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., C. Ray, B. Thiagarajan, J.F. Cully, Jr., S.K. Collinge, B. Holmes and K.L Gage. 2008. Prairie dog presence affects disease vector occurrence on small rodents. Ecography 31: 654-662.

    Wilder, A.P., R.J. Eisen, S.J. Bearden, J.A. Montenieri, D.W. Tripp, R.J. Brinkerhoff, K.L. Gage, and M.F. Antolin. 2008. Transmission efficiency of two flea species (Oropsylla tuberculata cynomuris and Oropsylla hirsuta) involved in plague epizootics among prairie dogs. EcoHealth 5: 205-212.

    Bai, Y., M.Y. Kosoy, C. Ray, R.J. Brinkerhoff, and S.K. Collinge. 2008. Distribution and dynamics of Bartonella infection in colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus).  Microbial Ecology 56: 373-382.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J. 2008. Habitat-associated differences in flea assemblages of striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis). Comparative Parasitology, 75:127-131.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., A.B. Markeson, J.H. Knouft., K.L. Gage, and J.A. Montenieri. 2006. Abundance patterns of two Oropsylla [Ceratophyllidae: Siphonaptera] species on black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) hosts. Journal of Vector Ecology 31: 355-363.

    Brinkerhoff, R.J., N.M. Haddad and J.L. Orrock. 2005. Corridors and olfactory predator cues affect small mammal behavior. Journal of Mammalogy 86: 662-669.

    Orrock, J.L., B.J. Danielson and R.J. Brinkerhoff. 2004. Rodent foraging is affected by indirect, but not direct, cues of predation risk. Behavioral Ecology 15: 433-437.

    Tewksbury, J.J., D.J. Levey, N.M. Haddad, S. Sargent, J.L. Orrock, A. Weldon, B.J. Danielson, J. Brinkerhoff, E.I. Damschen and P. Townsend. 2002. Corridors affect plants, animals and their interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99: 12923-12926.

    Book Chapters

    J.E. Childs and R.J. Brinkerhoff.  2012.  Environment and Vector-Borne Diseases In R. Friis, Ed., The Praeger Handbook of Environmental Health, Praeger Publishers.