I have been part of the Department of Biology at Northern Michigan University since 1996. 

My educational background:

Michigan State University  B.S. in Zoology 1971

SUNY at Stony Brook  M.A. in Ecology and Evolution 1979

Cornell University New York College of Veterinary Medicine D.V.M. 1983

The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Ph.D. in Veterinary Parasitology 1996

 

My regular teaching responsibilities: 

BI 111 Introductory Biology: Principles (the first of a 2 semester course in biology for our majors)

BI 221 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (a course that examines vertebrate anatomy in an evolutionary context)

BI 423 General Parasitology (a survey course that focuses on epidemiology and ecology of parasites)

I am the advisor for all pre-veterinary students at NMU.  Students interested in this program are encouraged to visit the electronic Handbook for Pre-veterinary Students at Northern Michigan University.

My research interests: 

I am interested in the epidemiology of parasite infections and evolutionary ecology of parasites.  Although most of my work has been in medical and veterinary-related parasite-host relationships, I will explore interesting questions associated with any parasite.

My lab group (in order that they arrived) past and present:

Mason Reichard, M.S. 1999. The assessment of prevalence and contamination intensity of parasite infections as indirect indicators of vehicular deaths in white-tailed deer.  He is currently in a Ph.D. program at Oklahoma State University.

Mark Werda, M.S. 2000. A fecal survey comparing prevalence estimates of intestinal parasites in Marquette County dogs with and without annual veterinary care.  He is currently a technical representative for a major pharmaceutical company.

Jason Garvon, M.S. 2001. Nematode parasitism in the land snail, Anquispira alternata:  aspects of infection with Cosmocercoides dukae and evaluation of a mechanism of infection with Parelaphostrongylus tenuis.  He is currently in a Ph.D. program at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Jim Maskey, M.S. 2002. Investigation of the occurrence of muscleworm (Parelaphostrongylus andersoni) in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  He is beginning a Ph.D. program at University of North Dakota fall 2002

Nate Forst is writing his thesis on the ecology of Ixodes scapularis in an endemic Lyme disease area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  He is currently in a professional optometry program.

Kelly Brunette is analyzing scat for diet and gastrointestinal parasite surveys of gray wolves in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Ashley Veine is early into a survey of respiratory and gastrointestinal parasites of American martens in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Mike Wierda completed a 2-year survey of hemoparasites in the American woodcock while an undergraduate at NMU.  He will begin his graduate program Fall 2002.

In addition, we have many interested, dedicated undergraduates join our teams.  Some of them went on to take on their own question to explore.  Their work was then presented at scientific meetings.  They are:

Maureen Cleary.  Comparison of gastrointestinal fish parasites in chubs from 3 rivers. presented at the 1999 Argonne National Laboratory Symposium for Undergraduate Research.

Ashley Veine.  Patterns of infection with Parelaphostrongylus tenuis in a resident herd of white-tailed deer.  presented at the 2000 Argonne National Laboratory Symposium for Undergraduate Research.

Wendy Juhl.  Effect of temperature and precipitation on the patterns of infection  with Parelaphostrongylus tenuis in a resident herd of white-tailed deer.  presented at the 2000 Argonne National Laboratory Symposium for Undergraduate Research.

Sara Richmond.  Efficacy of the Berlese apparatus for collecting larval ixodid ticks from leaf litter.  presented at the 2001 Argonne National Laboratory Symposium for Undergraduate Research.

Mike Wierda.  Initial results of a survey of hemoparasites in the American woodcock.  presented at the 2001 Argonne National Laboratory Symposium for Undergraduate Research.