Dr. Erin Hassett

Ecosystem health has always been central to my career aspirations and is affected by changing landscapes, climate change, and human activity. My interest in this is grounded not only in academic training but also in a deep personal connection to natural systems. As an avid backpacker, cyclist, and nature artist, I spend much of my time immersed in natural landscapes, which has reinforced both my appreciation for ecological processes and my commitment to minimizing my environmental footprint. These experiences naturally led me to pursue formal training in environmental science, with coursework in forest ecology, entomology, aquatic ecosystem restoration, traditional ecological knowledge, and climate science.

 

Through my academic training, I have intentionally shaped my career around One Health principles and the recognition that environmental, human, and animal health are inseparable. Across diverse ecosystems and regions, my work has focused on understanding how ecological systems respond to anthropogenic and climatic pressures. In Missouri, I studied fish community responses to human-driven alterations in stream flow with the Department of Conservation. At the Tennessee Department of Health, I investigated mosquito-borne virus distribution at a statewide scale. In Delaware, I examined tick species distributions in public lands with the Department of Fish & Wildlife and conducted mosquito surveillance and management to reduce disease risk. In Upstate New York, I focused on tick species & tick-borne pathogen ecology while in Virginia I joined an invasive species lab to aid spotted lanternfly and Japanese knotweed research. 

 

Together, these experiences have made clear that climate change is not a distant or abstract threat: it is already altering ecological interactions, species distributions, and ecosystem function. Observing these changes across taxa and landscapes has solidified my commitment to studying environmental health and understanding how climate-driven and human-mediated landscape changes cascade through ecosystems. For this reason, I pursued a Ph.D. in environmental science examining how environmental drivers (i.e. plant composition and hydrology) altered wetland carbon cycling function, with the broader goal of generating knowledge that can inform conservation, management, and public health decisions.​

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With my background in medical entomology and climate science, I recently joined a team at NOROCK USGS to study ungulate hemorrhagic diseases–– these diseases are caused by pathogens which are spread by biting midges, and these vectors are spreading in distribution because of climate change. I hope to help wildlife managers at the regional and state scale better understand this problem and work towards solutions.

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“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” 

–– Jane Goodall