Patrick Heffernan
@pmheffernan.bsky.social
71 followers 120 following 16 posts
Vector-borne disease ecologist | PhD Candidate at Notre Dame | NIH F31 Research Fellow |🦟|✍️|☕️
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pmheffernan.bsky.social
I’m incredibly grateful to be funded through the NIH. Because of their support, I’m able to conduct research that helps fight mosquito-borne disease. The NIH funds countless researchers dedicated to helping improve human lives, and I hope they continue to give us that opportunity
joshuasweitz.bsky.social
The White House budget proposal includes an $18B cut to NIH research funding in FY26. Explore the anticipated economic impacts in communities nationwide & click on any district to learn more and get a shareable scorecard.

New from our #SCIMaP team: scienceimpacts.org/fy26
SCIMaP - Impacts of Federal Cuts to Science and Medical Research
View Projected Impact of the FY2026 Budget Cuts to the NIH
scienceimpacts.org
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Had so much fun with @rohrecologylab.bsky.social at #ESA2025! Can’t wait to be back
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Just got to present @eselland.bsky.social and I’s
Schistosomiasis lab project at ESA!

While I primarily work with mosquitoes now, learning about Schistosomiasis in undergrad parasitology was what convinced me to become a disease ecologist. Such a cool full circle moment for me!
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Such a treat to get to see in person! It feels great to cross seeing a cicada-killer hunt off my entomology bucket list ✔️
pmheffernan.bsky.social
The cicada-killer wasp had just stung the cicada and was waiting for paralysis to fully kick in. It will then carry the cicada back to its burrow where it will lay its eggs, and the cicada’s body will serve as food for the hatching larvae
pmheffernan.bsky.social
While out walking, this pair of insects fell from the tree canopy and landed right in front of me!
pmheffernan.bsky.social
I’m normally an Aedes guy, but I had a blast learning how to do Anopheles midgut and salivary gland dissections today with members of the @aacostaserrano.bsky.social lab today! They’re the best!
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Another historic botanical garden in Varenna, Castello di Vezio, maintains artificial mini ponds full of mosquito predators as a means of ecological control. Very fun to see in action (and full of adorable snails, fish, and aquatic inverts)
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Took a brief break from honeymooning to identify hundreds of Aedes albopictus larvae in a standing water basin at Villa Monastero in Varenna, Italy. Remember to drain or dump standing water!
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Working on this project with @eselland.bsky.social and @rohrecologylab.bsky.social has been incredibly rewarding! Can’t wait to present on it further at ESA this fall 🐌
eselland.bsky.social
Thanks to everyone at @eeid2025.bsky.social for listening to me present our work yesterday on #schistosomiasis transmission across two ecological gradients! 🐌🪱 Excited to see how this project continues to take shape with @pmheffernan.bsky.social and the @rohrecologylab.bsky.social crew!
Reposted by Patrick Heffernan
eselland.bsky.social
Thanks to everyone at @eeid2025.bsky.social for listening to me present our work yesterday on #schistosomiasis transmission across two ecological gradients! 🐌🪱 Excited to see how this project continues to take shape with @pmheffernan.bsky.social and the @rohrecologylab.bsky.social crew!
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Turtles are out and rhododendrons in full bloom. Finally beginning to feel like a lovely summer 🐢☀️😁
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Thank you @eselland.bsky.social and @scipolnotredame.bsky.social for organizing such a wonderful event! It was inspiring to be a part of a coalition of PhD students across Indiana advocating for research in our state
pmheffernan.bsky.social
What an amazing day discussing my field with legislators at the state capitol! I focused my presentation on how and why the thermal performance of vectors and pathogens should inform interventions and control strategies against mosquito-borne diseases across Indiana 🦟
pmheffernan.bsky.social
Loving these rainy days in the PNW 😄
pmheffernan.bsky.social
I really enjoyed Wendy S. Parker’s exploration of the adequacy-for-purpose view of assessing models. Determining if models are a solution in their problem space (target, user, methodology, circumstances, and purpose) is an excellent exercise for crafting holistic and purposeful science
Model Evaluation: An Adequacy-for-Purpose View | Philosophy of Science | Cambridge Core
Model Evaluation: An Adequacy-for-Purpose View - Volume 87 Issue 3
www.cambridge.org