DR GISELE WINCK
RESEARCH
Understanding Nature & People
SESAM - One Health in the Amazon
2026 - ongoing
The project aims to construct an inter- and transdisciplinary socio-ecological synthesis to inform One Health policies in the Amazon by integrating science and local knowledge. Drawing on data from previous projects and advances in ecological modeling, epidemiology, and data science, the study will compile and harmonize environmental, socioeconomic, and epidemiological information, as well as data on vectors and parasite-host interactions. Given the socio-ecological complexity of the Amazon—which complicates efforts to prevent health and food security risks—the central hypothesis is that patterns of biodiversity, land use, and community practices measurably influence disease occurrence. The methodology combines data synthesis, socio-ecological network modeling, quantitative and qualitative analyses, and participatory workshops, with the goal of generating theoretical frameworks, integrated databases, and recommendations for public policies regarding health, conservation, and food security.
UNPAIR - Understanding Parasite-Host Networks
2026 - ongoing
Parasite-host interactions are crucial for the maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and the dynamics of emerging diseases. However, our understanding of these interactions across different spatial and temporal scales remains limited, particularly in Brazil. This project aims to bridge this gap by constructing local parasite-host networks and meta-networks across Brazilian biomes and ecoregions, analyzing how environmental, land-use, and socioeconomic factors shape these interactions. Using empirical data and advanced statistical approaches, the project seeks to identify patterns of network structure and dynamics, map areas of high beta-diversity, and predict the future impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities.
"Towards Dilution Landscapes"
Disease meta-community ecology: Moving from dilution effect to dilution landscapes
2022 - Ongoing
Anthropogenic changes in landscape structure are related to the process of parasite spillover and disease emergence. Yet, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms associating landscape change and disease emergence remain unclear. We need to understand both the non-random sequences by which communities are disassembled, and whether resilient species tend to amplify or dilute parasite transmission. We will develop theoretical and analytical frameworks to understand the structure and dynamics of host-parasite interaction networks across space and time. We will parameterize mathematical models with empirical data in order to model and predict: the diversity and composition of parasite and host assemblages across the landscape; the probability of parasite-host interactions; the effect of network structure on parasite-host coevolutionary dynamics; and the spatial risk of parasite spillover. We will then test model predictions and assumptions by sampling new empirical data.
Diversity of small wild mammals and their role as hosts
2022 - Ongoing
Despite the growing effort to understand parasite-host associations throughout Brazil over several decades, we still have a great gap of knowledge. In this project, we conduct an integrated study to unveil the parasite-host associations between parasites and small mammals in the Atlantic Rainforest.
Socioecological Networks: Integrating eco-evolutionary and socio-economic network data and models to understand and predict outbreaks of neglected tropical diseases
2020 - Ongoing
Currently, there is a growing awareness of synergies between public health and biodiversity, prompting us to synthesize biological and socioeconomic data into predictive models that blend science, governance, and social practices to strengthen ecosystem services and health policies. However, comprehensive databases integrating biodiversity and public health data at comparable scales and model systems are still lacking. In addition to improving the availability of information on pathogen and host biodiversity and the socioeconomic determinants of health in Brazil, our project aims to promote the development of predictive frameworks to support policy formulation for neglected tropical diseases. This project aims to establish partnerships with researchers from various fields of knowledge and institutions, to conduct a detailed knowledge synthesis based on the adaptive networks approach to investigate the interface between biodiversity and public health in Brazil.
COhESION: COnsequences of Environmental changeS on mutualistic InteractONs
2018 - Ongoing
Modification and fragmentation of habitat are recognized as determining factors for species loss. These factors intensify the consequences of temperature increase especially at regional scale, through the reduction of forest cover. The interactions represented by mutualistic networks are important to forest regeneration and thus for mitigation of global warming. In this sense, combining landscape structure with data on climate change and on interactions between vertebrates and plants, provides an important empirical model to understand the consequences of environmental changes on ecological interactions.
Photo copyright Christian Ziegler.
