Whitney Preisser

Whitney Preisser is an Assistant Professor of Disease Ecology at Kennesaw State University. Her research focuses on the ecology and biogeography of parasitic diseases in wildlife, leveraging natural history collections and field data to study parasite distribution patterns influenced by environmental and anthropogenic factors. She holds a PhD from Texas A&M University (2019) and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Washington (2019–2021) and Harvard University (2021–2022).

• Education: PhD in Ecology, Texas A&M University (2019)
• Postdoctoral Appointments: University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (2019–2021); Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology (2021–2022)

Her research emphasizes long-term ecological changes in parasite communities, particularly in marine and terrestrial systems. Key areas include Parophrys vetulus (English Sole) parasite dynamics in the Salish Sea, latitudinal gradients of parasite diversity, and the use of museum collections to reconstruct historical parasite abundances.

Recent work has demonstrated climate-driven declines in parasite burdens and shifts in parasite community composition over the past century. Collaborations span institutions like the Burke Museum, HelmWest Laboratory, and Washington Sea Grant.