March 18, 2016, by admin

We’re excited to announce that Dr. Colleen Duncan, DVM, has arrived in Sitka as our early spring Scientist in Residency Fellow. Dr. Duncan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado.

​Colleen received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, her PhD in epidemiology from CSU, and board certifications from the American Colleges of Veterinary Preventative Medicine and Veterinary Pathology. Her interests include using diagnostic pathology to investigate population-level disease dynamics, as well as investigating the intersection of animal, human, and ecosystem health. In recent years, Dr. Duncan’s research has required her to travel throughout coastal Alaska for her fieldwork studying the ecology of infectious disease in both Northern Fur Seals and polar bears.

During her Fellowship, Dr. Duncan is excited to share her work expertise and education experiences with the community of Sitka, and in particular with local students who may be interested in a career in veterinary medicine. Days after she arrives, Colleen will lead a harbor seal necropsy with the local Ocean Science Bowl club. She will guide Mount Edgecumbe High Schoolers in Anatomy and Marine Biology classes through an animal forensics unit, and discuss animal health with 8^th graders at Blatchley Middle School.

Colleen can be heard on the KCAW radio morning interview on March 23^rd at 8:10am. She will be one of the many scientists onboard the Sitka WhaleFest Food Web Cruise on the morning of March 26^th (tickets available at www.sitkawhalefest.org and Old Harbor Books!). In the last week that she is here, Colleen will team up with local mammalogists to facilitate a community discussion about the health of animals in coastal Alaska, how this translates to human well-being and subsistence, and why this is important to the people of Sitka. This discussion will take place at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House on April 5^th at 7pm, and is free and open to all. Dates and times for all events will be posted on the Sitka Sound Science Center website and the online KCAW community calendar.

The Sitka Sound Science Center, through funding from the National Science Foundation is once again hosting Scientist in Residency Fellowships (SIRF) here at our Center. Each year fellowships are awarded to preeminent scientists from across the country. This year the SIRF program is once again focused on arctic and subarctic science. The SIRF program brings scientists to Sitka for month long sabbaticals allowing for undisturbed research, free from the interruptions of their daily routine. The program provides scientists the opportunity to engage our town in science, sharing their research and career pathways, while also benefiting from the important local knowledge of residents. For more information, visit our SIRF info page or to schedule a SIRF event please contact Lauren Bell, SIRF Director, 907.747.8878 ext. 9