Kai Shanebeck

Kai is a disease ecologist working in One Health, studying parasite and infectious disease dynamics across wildlife and human systems. They ask how global change reshapes where diseases occur, who is exposed, and what the consequences are for wildlife and human health. Kai completed an MSc in Ecology at the Universität Bremen, Germany, studying parasites of sea otters and pinnipeds. Their PhD at the University of Alberta, Canada, investigated parasites, particularly zoonotic species, and metal contaminants in river otters, mink, and muskrats in western Canada, and their effects on host health. As a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Santa Barbara, they examined disparities in vector-borne and zoonotic disease risk in marginalized communities and the role of dog ownership and land use change in cutaneous leishmaniasis incidence in South America. Kai also founded Scientific QUEERies, a digital seminar series highlighting the research and experiences of LGBTQ+ scientists worldwide, and is passionate about improving equity, inclusion, and representation in science. At Columbia, they will investigate how urbanization and co-infection shape pathogen dynamics and host immunity in wildlife, and how diagnostic bias and social inequities drive disparities in Lyme disease risk in New York.