Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2022-2023

Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology

Research Summary: The emergence of infectious diseases and their global impact are well documented by recent outbreaks across human, domestic livestock, and wildlife systems. In fact, an amphibian fungal pathogen is currently responsible for the largest loss of global biodiversity ever attributed to a single disease. While many diseases cause catastrophic harm to host populations, variation in response to disease exists. Some populations become extinct, while others persist at lower abundances, or even rebound to pre-disease levels. My research examines how different amphibian populations respond to disease presence to better understand why some populations persist, while others perish.

Advisor: Larissa Bailey and Chris Funk