Isobel is a Postdoctoral Fellow and American Australian Association Scholar investigating ticks and tick-borne diseases of medical and veterinary importance. She is particularly interested in applying molecular technologies to fundamental research questions in tick biology.
Previously, Dr. Ronai was awarded an Endeavour Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Eco-epidemiology laboratory group at Columbia University where she led projects on the genetics and behavior of two key tick species associated with tick-borne diseases, the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis). Dr. Ronai was also a visiting Wood-Whelan Research Fellow in the laboratory group that recently developed genome editing for ticks, at the University of Nevada, Reno. She completed her award-winning Ph.D. at the University of Sydney (Australia).