Helen Esser

Helen Esser is an Assistant Professor at the Wildlife Ecology & Conservation Group within Wageningen University & Research, specializing in disease ecology with a focus on arthropod vectors (ticks/mosquitoes), pathogen transmission, and vertebrate hosts. Her research examines how environmental changes like biodiversity loss, climate change, and habitat modification disrupt ecological interactions and trigger disease outbreaks.

• Current projects include experimental studies on host movement effects on parasite burden and mathematical modeling of tick-borne encephalitis virus dynamics
• Teaching roles involve supervising BSc/MSc students and coordinating the course Introduction to Animal Ecology (WEC-21306)
• Active in the Dutch Society for Wildlife Health (DSWH), contributing to wildlife health knowledge and conservation