Sharon Kessler

Dr. Sharon Kessler is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Stirling's Faculty of Natural Sciences. She holds a PhD from Arizona State University (2014) and completed postdoctoral fellowships in computational modeling (McGill University), virology (Leibniz Institute), and disease signaling (Durham University). Her research integrates disease ecology and animal cognition, emphasizing the One Health framework to study how animal health perceptions influence disease transmission dynamics. Key interests include the evolution of human healthcare networks, behavioral defenses against pathogens, and conservation biology.

Education:

• PhD, Arizona State University, 2014
• Postdoctoral Fellowships: McGill University (Canada), Leibniz Institute (Germany), Durham University (UK)

Research Interests:

• Role of cognition in disease avoidance behaviors
• Evolution of human care-giving strategies
• Parasite-microbiome interactions in lemurs
• Zoonotic disease surveillance
• Social structures and health signaling in primates

Collaborations:

• Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
• Behavior and Evolution Research Group
• Cognition in Complex Environments Initiative

Advising: Open to mentoring students on topics like healthcare networks, primate behavior, or conservation genetics. Contact via email for project discussions.