CHICAGO — Noé de la Sancha knows small animals can have a big effect on the ecosystems around them. The assistant professor of environmental science at DePaul University has researched rodents, possums and other small mammals in Chicago, Côte d'Ivoire and Paraguay to reveal information about overall animal populations.

Recently, de la Sancha was selected as a 2026-2027 U.S. Fulbright Scholar, a recognition that supports outstanding scholars in their research around the world.

“We are incredibly proud of Dr. de la Sancha for this well-deserved Fulbright recognition,” said Stephanie Dance-Barnes, dean of DePaul’s College of Science and Health. “His work exemplifies the kind of globally engaged, interdisciplinary scholarship that defines the College of Science and Health, advancing our understanding of the critical connections between environmental, animal and human health.”

De la Sancha will travel to Paraguay this July to continue his research in the field through the end of the year, hosted by Fundación Moisés Bertoni and the Centro para el Desarrollo de la Investigación Científica. This award will build on his 20-plus years of exploring how deforestation affects biodiversity through the examination of small mammals in the area. This grant will support the newest iteration of this research, which investigates what diseases in wildlife can spread to livestock, domestic animals and local communities.

“The forests in these regions have been fragmented, and we found that small mammals experience more stress in these small patches of forest, which makes them more likely to get sick,” said de la Sancha. 

Researchers will use a cutting-edge platform called VirScan to screen samples for over 68,000 viruses. This allows them to test samples from the field on a large scale. 

“We already have preliminary positive detections of tick-borne pathogens across our field sites, so we know the threat is real,” de la Sancha said. “This project will hugely expand the knowledge we have of the diseases in the area, which impacts every living thing in an ecosystem.”

The project will integrate multiple testing methods to provide an unprecedented view of the infectious diseases these wildlife communities experience. A key thread running through the project is the stress-immunity-infection axis: de la Sancha’s team has shown that small mammals in fragmented forests carry measurably elevated stress hormone levels, and the project tests whether this directly increases their susceptibility to infection.

De la Sancha uses the One Health approach to apply wildlife health research to human populations and is collaborating with other biology faculty members at DePaul to bring the model into the classroom. 

“The One Health model looks at human, animal and environmental health as interconnected,” de la Sancha said. “About 60% of all human illnesses come from animals. Wild animals are interacting with livestock, which we then interact with. When we support one part of the system, we support health across species. Introducing students to this concept early supports the awareness that everything in biology is connected.”

Through this award, de la Sancha joins a community of Fulbright scholars who represent the United States by advancing knowledge in their fields and strengthening partnerships with host institutions.

“This is a real full circle moment,” de la Sancha said. “I received a Fulbright as a graduate student and actually met my wife through that program. My family will join me in Paraguay, and I’m excited to show them what I do when I’m in the field. It’s a priceless experience not only for me personally, but for biodiversity knowledge as a whole.”

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