معرفی
Professor Dan Heath is a leading researcher in environmental biology and aquatic ecology at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor. His work focuses on fish physiology, conservation genetics, and environmental DNA (eDNA) applications, with a strong emphasis on salmonid species and their responses to environmental stressors. He has pioneered studies on maternal effects on DNA methylation in Chinook salmon, the impacts of noise pollution on fish behavior, and eDNA-based ecological monitoring.
Key research directions include understanding how genetic and epigenetic factors influence fish resilience to climate change, optimizing aquaculture practices through probiotic therapy, and leveraging transcriptomics to assess stress and disease in wild populations. His NSERC-funded projects have advanced early warning systems for water quality using microbial communities and explored the ecological implications of invasive species through eDNA metabarcoding.
- Research Themes: eDNA applications, salmonid genetics, microbial ecology, stress physiology, aquaculture innovation
- Notable Achievements: Supervisor for award-winning student Kyle Wellband (Governor General’s Gold Medal recipient), developer of novel Chinook salmon cell lines for immune studies
Labs/Teams: GLIER’s Aquatic Genomics and Conservation Lab, collaborating with industry and government on eDNA-based fisheries management strategies.
