Cara Brook is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. She investigates the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of zoonotic infections, with a particular focus on pathogens derived from wild bat hosts. She maintains a long-term field site studying fruit bat viruses in the island nation of Madagascar, where she works closely with students from the University of Antananarivo and the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar. She is committed to conducting rigorous science while simultaneously promoting scientific development, education, and capacity building in Madagascar. Prior to joining Integrative Biology, Dr. Brook was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. Before launching her faculty career, she was a Branco Weiss Society and Science Fellow and a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley. She received her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University in 2017 and her BS in Earth Systems from Stanford University in 2010. Originally from Sonoma County, California, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, and camping across the North American West when not chasing bat viruses.