This summer, Ben co-instructed the 7-week BatCave course, alongside Drs. Kristen Rayfield and Cassie Bonavita from the Dávalos and Anthony labs, respectively. This program, supported by the National Science Foundation, recruited six undergraduates from six different U.S. universities for an intensive, hands-on training in integrative disease ecology. Throughout this course, students received daily instruction and mentorship across ecology, virology, genomics, data analysis, coding, and science communication, while working with real datasets from Egyptian fruit bats in Nigeria.  

Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive. One participant described the BatCave course as ‘an amazing undergraduate opportunity’. All students shared that the experience gave them the confidence and preparation needed to pursue graduate school and do integrative science with ease.