Raina Plowright is the Rudolf J. and Katharine L. Steffen Professor at Cornell University and a Cornell Atkinson Scholar. Trained as a veterinarian, epidemiologist, and ecologist, she studies how emerging viruses move from animals into people and how these spillover events can be prevented.
Her research brings together scientists across disciplines to uncover the biological and ecological mechanisms that generate emerging infectious disease threats, with a particular focus on bat-borne viruses. Working across scales from within-host processes to wildlife populations and landscapes, her research has revealed how environmental change—including land-use and climate change—can alter infection dynamics and create conditions for pathogen spillover. Her work also focuses on translating this understanding into practical strategies for preventing outbreaks at their source.
Plowright co-chairs the Lancet Commission on Prevention of Viral Spillover and leads international collaborations on emerging infectious diseases. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
