Professional summary
Dr White is a theoretical ecology at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, specialising in modelling population dynamics and species spread using mathematical and simulation models, tackling topics in vector-borne disease epidemiology and control. His research themes straddle human, animal and health, and the outputs help to inform national and international policy. Some of his recent interests include: modelling insect pest dynamics - modelling the seasonal abundance of mosquito, midge and tick species, and their effects on vector-borne diseases; invasive species - developing theory on how dispersal and demography interact with landscape heterogeneity to influence species spread; and Xylella fastidiosa – modelling the spread and control of the bacterial plant pathogen in Italy and UK.
Some current research questions include investigating how the changing environment shapes patterns of vector abundance with particular applications to ticks and mosquitoes, developing general theory of invasion dynamics by linking environmental variables with dispersal and demography, and modelling the spread and control of emerging infectious diseases.