Peter Larsen

Peter Larsen is an Associate Professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, specializing in Genetics and Genomics with a focus on prion diseases and veterinary biomedical sciences. His research spans Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), tick-borne pathogens, and gut microbiome studies. He leads projects on prion soil contamination, diagnostic development using RT-QuIC, and bat microbiome diversity. His work intersects with UN Sustainable Development Goals through wildlife health and disease management.

• Major grants include NIH funding for tick-borne pathogen surveillance
• Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources grants for prion research
• Collaborations with Texas A&M University and USDA

Larsen received the American Society of Mammalogists Fellowship in 2010. His research outputs (87 total) cover prion ecology, wildlife disease diagnostics, and microbial community profiling. Current projects include developing prion decontamination tools and studying metal inhibition in prion propagation. He has 14 active and completed grants between 2019-2027.