University of Michigan
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Susanna Messinger is the recipient of the Margaret Ayers Host Award for Rackham graduate students. The $5,000 award is for spring and summer support and research and is given to graduate students who excel as scholars and show promise of future contributions in their field and community.

Messinger’s current dissertation research seeks to unravel the evolutionary effects of spatial structure on species interactions. “I focus on the theory of spatial effects on predator evolution, specifically pathogens and true predators,” she said. 

“Overall, in addition to improving our understanding of the structure and composition of complex communities, this research has implications for understanding emerging infectious diseases. Thus, the potential applied benefits of this research range from improved conservation and preservation of precious ecological resources to better control of human disease and agricultural pests.”

Host received a Rackham degree in 1942 and went on to study at the University of Oxford. As an alumna, she served U-M in many capacities. After her death in 1987, the Margaret Ayers Host endowment was established to honor her memory and her remarkable contributions as a scholar and to the U-M community and to support women graduate students in perpetuity.