Recent news

8/6/2026: We are looking for 2 work-study students to join us in our research on wildlife parasites. Please see the ad and apply through the work study portal. Jillian will be in touch!

7/29/2026: Abi and Jillian had a great time at the annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists in muggy Orlando, FL, USA. Jillian and Abi each presented talks related to our work on parasite manipulation and the evolutionary ecology of Parelaphostrongylus nematodes in snails and caribou and white-tailed deer, respectively.

We also co-presented a poster with co-author Amy (BSc research assistant 2026) that revealed the mitogenome of 1 of 3 lineages of a cryptic species complex and demonstrated that phylogenetic analysis with mitogenomes provides better species resolution than the barcoding gene for echinostome trematodes. 

7/17/2026: Outreach in parasitology as begun with the Senior Scientists group in the Mini U Summer Camp program. Each week from now until early September, we are using microscope demonstrations and hands-on activities to introduce students to a diverse array of human and animal parasites, their weird morphology, and their amazing life cycles. This year we are featuring new parasites as we have many campers that repeat from year to year.