معرفی
Dr. Jessica Light is a Professor and Curator of Mammals in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Texas A&M University, part of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. She holds a B.S. in Biology and Resource Ecology & Management from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from Louisiana State University (2005). Her research focuses on evolutionary biology, mammalogy, parasitology, systematics, phylogenetics, and population genetics, using multidisciplinary methods to study host-parasite relationships and biodiversity conservation.
Dr. Light has secured nearly $7 million in National Science Foundation grants, authored 70 peer-reviewed articles, and contributed to two book chapters. She teaches undergraduate courses in natural history and mammalogy, and graduate seminars in evolutionary biology, receiving multiple teaching awards. Professional leadership includes associate editor roles for top-tier journals and active participation in academic societies.
Her work emphasizes biodiversity preservation through projects like the digitization of parasite-host associations and natural history collections. She collaborates on initiatives such as the March Mammal Madness educational outreach program. Dr. Light’s research spans topics including bat population genetics, rodent systematics, and the ecology of tick-borne pathogens, with a focus on conservation implications of captive breeding and urban species adaptation.
