Gargi Deshpande, Ph.D.
Email: Gargi.Deshpande@utsa.edu
Gargi LinkedIn
Gargi Personal Website
PI: Dr. Katrin Gaardbo Kuhn
Research: What happens when a changing climate alters the way infectious diseases spread? That question sits at the heart of my work in epidemiology. I am interested in understanding how environmental and climatic factors shape disease transmission, and how we can use data, surveillance, and modeling to anticipate and respond to these changes before they become public health crises. My research spans vector-borne diseases, wastewater surveillance, respiratory infections, and environmental health. I enjoy working at the intersection of epidemiology, climate science, and data analytics, bringing together diverse and often messy sources of information to uncover patterns that would otherwise stay hidden. My broader goal is to bridge the gap between research and public health practice: turning data into evidence, evidence into action, and ultimately contributing to healthier, more resilient communities in a changing world.
Shishir Rao, Ph.D.
Email: Shishir.Rao@utsa.edu
Shishir Personal Website
PI: Dr. Matthew Troia
Research: Shishir's postdoctoral work integrates stream temperature data, remote sensing, and spatial modelling to understand how urbanization and climate change affect freshwater ecosystems. His current projects examine whether riparian buffers mitigate aquatic urban heat island effects across urbanizing stream networks and develop a reusable modelling pipeline that combines species distribution models with bioenergetics models to forecast range shifts of tropical non-native freshwater fishes under changing thermal conditions.
