My early career work focused on immunology and parasitology, but since 2001 I have joined that experience with an ongoing interest in fish biology, estuarine ecology and conservation. Beginning in 2011 I led a study of habitat usage by juvenile fish in the Grays Harbor estuary (WA), as well as examining the effects of climate change (2012 report) as a framework for planning restoration and conservation efforts in the basin in the coming decades. Prior work focused on juvenile salmon ecology studies in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands, the Snohomish River estuary, the Columbia River estuary, and nearshore work off the coasts of Washington and Oregon.My Ph.D. dissertation work involved researching the effects of multiple infections (viral, bacterial and parasitic) on the growth and survival of juvenile salmon early in the marine phase of their life cycle. My master's work investigated the infection dynamics of Myxobolus cerebralis (Whirling disease) on trout and salmon in NE Oregon. This interest in Disease Ecology (how pathogens influence and potentially regulate populations) continues in my work for the Wild Fish Conservancy, where we have initiated a research program that includes sampling for exotic viruses in Puget Sound as well as working to examine the potential effects of Atlantic salmon net pens on native Pacific salmonids. I also have an ongoing interest in science education and increasing public awareness of the challenges facing us in salmon and ecosystem conservation and the effects of climate change.Specialties: Estuarine ecology, disease ecology, fish biology and microbiology, immunology, conservation