In this talk, disease ecologist Felicia Keesing will describe a recent project to determine how controlling ticks in residential neighborhoods of Dutchess County, New York affected tick abundance, tick infection, and incidence of tick-borne diseases in people and pets. Keesing will also describe patterns of tick abundance and infection in yards in Dutchess County.
Felicia Keesing, a biologist at Bard College, recent focus is on how biodiversity affects the spread of infectious diseases among humans and animals. Keesing has authored over 100 papers, supported by grants from prestigious institutions like the National Geographic Society, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.
Her work has been featured in renowned publications such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, and The Guardian. Notably, she was featured in the BBC documentary "Extinction" with Sir David Attenborough in 2020. Keesing has served on the steering committee for Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education conferences and directed a science literacy project funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2000, she received the United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Clinton. She is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Keesing received the International Cosmos Prize in 2022 and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2023.
Please bring a blanket or chair to sit on our lawn. We also recommend bringing a sack lunch for a picnic!
These events are free and open to the public, but we appreciate donations to keep the programming accessible.