Katie Haman
Katie Haman is a recently graduated veterinarian (2012) and now a PhD-candidate in Zoology in a joint program through the National Institutes of Health (USA) and the University of British Columbia, Marine Mammal Research Unit (Canada). The focus of Katie’s research is the land-to-sea flow of terrestrial sourced pathogens impacting wildlife health in coastal marine ecosystems. To investigate this land-to-sea flow Katie uses coccidian parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii as model pathogens. These extremely pathogenic parasites of known terrestrial origin, such as T. gondii,Sarcocystis spp, and Neospora spp are becoming prevalent in marine mammals in coastal marine environments. Alarmingly, co-infection with two or more of these parasites results in increased morbidity and mortality of infected marine wildlife. The overall impact of these protozoal parasites on marine mammals and ecosystem health remains unknown, as does the mechanism by which these terrestrial sourced pathogens gain access to coastal marine ecosystems. Given the zoonotic potential of T. gondii, understanding how this and other closely related parasites move between ecosystems, both terrestrial and marine, will improve our understanding of the ecology of these diseases and thereby identify significant risk factors associated with outbreaks in both humans and wildlife.