Resource Ecology Management
School for Environment and Sustainability
Hayden Hedman
Hayden Hedman
Previous Institution:
University of Colorado Boulder
Co-Mentors
Current Research Project(s)
Increased overlap of human-animal contact have promoted recent inclines of emerging infectious diseases. The use of antibiotics in animal husbandry has promoted not only antibiotic-resistant bacteria among livestock but also the cross-species transmission between other livestock, wildlife, and humans. The spillover of antimicrobial-resistant commensals demonstrates a pressing concern for veterinarian science, ecology, and public health. I am interested in evaluating the spillover of antibiotic-resistant bacteria with a holistic approach that accounts for how agricultural practices affect the ecology and evolution of drug-resistant microbes.
Laboratory sciences: I use microbial and molecular techniques to analyze the resistome of samples collected from poultry, humans, and the surrounding environment. I apply both culture-based and culture independent methodologies to monitor bacterial resistance. Specifically, I screen and sequence antimicrobial-resistant genes to analyze the evolutionary history of bacteria from animals and humans.
Mathematical modelling: I apply spatial epidemiological models to understand how antimicrobial resistance spreads among chickens and humans within the environment. Such models allow me to predict shed rates of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria into the environment. I also apply spatial ecological models to predict the probability of spatial distributions of free-ranging chickens. Collectively, I use these both methods to inform the relationship of geospatial distance to nearest farming activity and susceptibility to antimicrobial agents.
Population sciences: I study antimicrobial resistance in populations of Escherichia coli sampled from animals and humans. I apply population and community ecology methods to better understand how succession of drug-resistant bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract of host species can affect overall microbial community structure and composition.