I am an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Marine Epidemiology. My group works on population dynamics in the areas of conservation, disease, and fisheries via fieldwork, laboratory experiments, mathematical modeling, and statistical modeling. I run a long-term field program on salmon in British Columbia on salmon and their diseases in partnership with the Salmon Coast Field Station. We collaborate with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and several NGOs including the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Sea Shepherd Society. I am an Associate Editor for Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B and co-Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
Leila Krichel
I am a PhD student working on infectious disease ecology. I completed my undergraduate degree at UofT, where I carried out a project parameterizing parasite mortality and host-shedding rate for a Daphnia-parasite epidemiological model. My current project focuses on how environmental variability could affect host-parasite dynamics differently than what would be expected in a temporally constant environment. This work is being done using a combination of theoretical models and experimental epidemiology in a Daphnia-parasite system.
Madeline Jarvis-Cross
I’m a PhD student working on infectious disease ecology. I completed my undergraduate degree in 2018, with majors in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and English. I’m interested in using mathematical models to investigate the impacts of climate change on co-infection dynamics within and among hosts, and the impacts of environmentally-driven shifts at these scales on the structure and stability of ecological communities.
Jaime Grimm
I am a PhD student working with Andrew Bateman (Pacific Salmon Foundation), Kristi Miller-Saunders (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and MK. I’m broadly interested in aquatic conservation and developing evidence-based conservation policy. I’m currently working on characterizing the dispersal and distributions of fish pathogens originating from fish farms in coastal British Columbia through field research and environmental DNA analysis. Prior to beginning my PhD, I completed an MSc on invasion ecology at McGill University and worked as a researcher for the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.
Robert Hechler
I’m a PhD student working on eDNA and eRNA analysis of salmon health with Kristi Miller-Saunders (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and MK. I am broadly interested inunderstanding how species and communities respond to changing environmental conditions. My PhD research uses molecular tools to investigate the impacts of salmon farm pathogens on wild Pacific salmon and coastal marine communities. Before beginning my PhD, I obtained my MSc at McGill University where I worked on developing environmental DNA and RNA methods for biomonitoring applications.
Kate Medcalf
I am pursuing my MSc under the supervision of Sean Godwin (UC Davis) and MK . Broadly, I am motivated to understand the ecological, cultural, and social importance of fish such as salmon, and contribute to sustainable management practices. I was first introduced to questions linking fish and disease during my undergrad research in the Hutchings Lab at Dalhousie University that explored the impacts of temperature and sea louse parasitism on juvenile salmon. For my MSc, I aim to investigate whether sea lice predispose juvenile salmon to infection by other pathogens. My free time is often spent singing in choirs, attempting to learn a language via Netflix, and spending time near the ocean.
Alumni (Grad Students & Postdocs)
Ariel Greiner (PhD on modeling coral reef dynamics and conservation). Now a NSERC postdoctoral fellow at Penn State and Oxford.
Dylan Shea (PhD on eDNA of salmon diseases). Now a postdoctoral fellow at NORCE Research in Norway.
Devin Kirk (PhD on infectious disease and climate change). Now a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.
Kiran wadhawan (MSc on salmon and sea lice modeling). Now a PhD student in disease ecology and evolution at Edinburgh.
Sean Godwin (PhD on ecology of salmon and sea lice). Did a Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University and is moving to UC Davis as an Assistant Professor.
Luke Rogers (PhD on theoretical population dynamics). Now a research scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Simon Fraser University.
Chris Blackford (MSc on marine protected area design). Now a researcher at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Emily Darling (Banting Postdoc on coral reef conservation). Now a research scientist at Wildlife Conservation Society.
Mack Bartlett (MSc on kokanee salmon, 2017). Now manager of Cedar Coast Field Station in Clayoquot Sound.
Pepijn Luijckx (Postdoc on Daphnia epidemiology, 2017). Now a Lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin.
Andrew Bateman (Postdoc on salmon ecology, 2016). Did a Banting postdoc at UVic with Chris Darimont, and is now a research associate with the Pacific Salmon Foundation and Raincoast Conservation Foundation.
Stephanie Peacock (PhD on salmon and sea lice, 2016). Did a Banting Postdoc at U Calgary and now a research scientist with the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
Melissa Orobko (MSc on fishery bioeconomics, 2016). Now a PhD student at SFU with Isabelle Cote.
Stefan Meyer (PhD on NZ sea lion population dynamics, 2015). Now a bioinformatician and modeler at AbacusBio, New Zealand.
Lindsey Ogston (MSc on marine viruses of salmon, 2014). Now an environmental stewardship coordinator for the Tsleil Waututh Nation.
Gayle Sommerville (MSc on Paua population dynamics, 2012). Now a PhD student at the University of Western Australia.
Martin Krkosek 
Madeline Jarvis-Cross 
Jaime Grimm 
Kate Medcalf