Richard Brown

• UC Davis 1996 International Medicine / Wildlife Health DVM 1996
• UC Berkeley 1993 Disease Ecology / Parasitology PhD 1993
• CU Boulder 1986 Population Ecology / Biology MA 1986
• UC Davis 1983 Zoology BS 1983

• WLDF 210 - Introduction to Wildlife Conservation & Administration
• WLDF 244 - Wildlife Policy & Animal Welfare
• WLDF 302 - Environmental Ethics
• WLDF 421 - Wildlife Management (Upland Game)
• WLDF 426 - Field Trip
• WLDF 450 Principles of Wildlife Diseases
• WLDF 480 - Selected Topics in Wildlife Management
• WLDF 485 - Senior Seminar in Wildlife Management
• WLDF 495 Senior Project
• WLDF 550L Advanced Topics in Wildlife Diseases Lab

I am generally interested in wildlife disease ecology and maintenance ecology of zoonotic pathogens. Current projects involve studies of the prevalence and distribution of pathogens associated with mid-size carnivores, patterns of abundance and distribution of ticks and other ectoparasites from mid-size carnivores, prevalence and distribution of different strains of the agent that causes Lyme disease, distribution of the agent that causes salmon poisoning disease in fish collected Lassen National Forest. I have conducted most of my recent field studies in the areas surrounding Hoopa, north-coastal areas of Humboldt County, and Lassen National Forest. I remain active in research, in part, to help tribal, state and federal agencies with problems related to disease ecology and wildlife management and to train students interested in wildlife disease ecology.

Prospective Graduate Students

Prospective students should have a deep desire to study the ecology of wildlife diseases. I often receive inquiries from students asking whether I’ll be considering new students for admission during the upcoming year. For the most part, that answer will be “yes.” Prior to contacting me, please review my web site and read several of my more recent publications. You should carefully consider how your own interests in wildlife ecology might parallel my interests. I plan to focus my upcoming research on the ecology of vector-borne diseases and the ecology of pathogen maintenance in carnivore communities. However, I will also consider other topics related to wildlife disease ecology.

When you contact me, please send a resume and a sample of your writing. I tend to make decisions about graduate applicants based on prior field (or other research) experience, a demonstrated passion for wildlife diseases, recommendations from other scientists who know you well or have worked directly with you, and our communications prior to my seeing the application. Of course, your GRE scores and GPA will also be carefully evaluated and higher scores are obviously more competitive. Applicants should carefully consider their own commitment to graduate school and graduate research. Graduate school is not a cake walk, and I will only consider applicants who can demonstrate enthusiasm and passion for wildlife diseases -- and who plan to work once accepted. I work closely with each of my students through all phases of their training (including proposal development, grant writing, sample collection, analysis of data, and thesis review), and I prefer to work with students who are highly motivated and enthusiastic about their work. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions about my program, projects, or your potential involvement.