Andrea Varela-Stokes is a veterinary scientist in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Her current role is chairing the department and leading the laboratory’s research in tick-borne diseases. Co-led with John Stokes, their laboratory focuses on developing the guinea pig model for spotted fever rickettsiosis, using a guinea pig-tick-Rickettsia system. Her past research includes work with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Borrelia spp., including B. lonestari, and various vector-borne and non-vector-borne parasites of veterinary or zoonotic importance. She has used a range of animal models in her research, from white-tailed deer to cotton rats; however, guinea pigs are by far her favorite to work with – and (in their lab’s opinion) an ideal as a model for spotted fever rickettsiosis and other infectious diseases.