Featured Publications

  • First report of canine Chagas disease on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad

    We report the first cases of Chagas in pet dogs on the Caribbean island of Trinidad.

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  • Employing tiny harmonic radar tags to study mosquito movement in natural environments

    We attached tiny tracking tags to mosquitoes to understand their movement patterns.

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  • Live triatomine bug, vector of Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), found engorged in a Lisbon hotel room: A first for Portugal and for Europe

    We report the first live kissing bug found in Europe. Paper has been accepted by Parasites & Vectors.

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Recent publications

 

First report of Triatoma sanguisuga infected with Trypanosoma cruzi in Delaware.

Peterson JK, et al. / AJTMH/ 2025

We found the first kissing bug infected with T. cruzi, found alive under someone’s pillow in their bedroom, jighlighting the need for research into the T. cruzi-kissing bug system in Delaware and the greater Mid-Atlantic, US.

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Chagas disease in Trinidad and Tobago – A Call to Action

Suepaul R, et al. / Royal Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene / 2025

Here we trace the history of T. cruzi, kissing bugs, and Chagas disease in Trinidad and Tobago, presenting a compelling case for the need for more research in this dual island Caribbean nation.

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Special thanks to our supporters

 
 

Other recent work

 

  • Shaw K, Peterson JK, Jalali N, Ratnavale S, Alkuzweny M, Barbera C, Costello A, Emerick Liam; Espana G, Meyer A, Mowry S, Poterek M, de Souza Moreira, C, Morgan E; Moore S, Perkins, A. (2025). Co-circulating pathogens of humans: A systematic review of mechanistic transmission models. Proc Biol Sci 1 September 2025; 292 (2055): 20251453.https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1453.

  • Peterson JK*†, MacDonald ML, Ellis VA. (2024). Genome report: First whole genome sequence of Triatoma sanguisuga (Le Conte, 1855), vector of Chagas disease.G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics; jkae308, https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkae308. PDF.

  • Peterson JK*†, Bartlett CR, de Oliveira J. (2024). Novel finding of Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus Champion, 1899 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Belize with a note on single Rhodnius Stål, 1859 species observations. Check List 20(3): 588-593. https://doi.org/10.15560/20.3.588.

  • Varian CP, Saldaña A, Calzada JE, Abad-Franch F, Kieran TJ, Padukone A‡, Peterson JK, Gottdenker NL. (2023). Community structure and microenvironment affect Chagas disease vector infection and abundance in a rural landscape. Ecosphere: 14(1): e4347. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4347.

    *Senior author      †Corresponding author     ‡Student mentored by JK Peterson