Marissa Milstein

Marissa Milstein
Assistant Professor
she/her
[email protected]
135 Skok Hall

2003 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108-6074
United States

marissamilstein.com
Education

BA, Anthropology, University of Wisconsin Madison

MA, Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis

DVM, University of Minnesota 

PhD, University of Minnesota 

Areas of Interest

  • Zoonotic and infectious disease
  • Disease ecology
  • Wildlife health
  • Protein food sovereignty and security
  • Cultural context of infectious disease
  • One Health/Ecosystem Health

Biography

I am a wildlife veterinarian and researcher working at the intersections of disease ecology, anthropology, and genomics. I integrate quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the ecological and socio-cultural context of pathogen spillover. I am the Co-Principal Investigator of the Konashen Ecosystem Health Project. This project is a collaboration with the Waiwai, an Indigenous Amazonian community who owns and manages the Konashen Amerindian Protected Area (KAPA) in Guyana, South America. Through this long-term partnership, we co-construct research questions focusing on zoonotic disease, wild meat and food security, sustainable resource use, and vector-borne disease.​

Informed by my work in Guyana studying hunter harvested wildlife, I also partner with the White Earth Nation Department of Natural Resources studying issues related to protein food sovereignty and wildlife disease. 

Teaching

FW3925 Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation

Select Publications

Milstein M.S., Shaffer C.A., Suse P., Marawanaru E., Shoni R., Suse S., Issacs B., Larsen P.A., Travis D.A., Terio K.A., Wolf T.M. 2024. The establishment of a collaborative surveillance program with indigenous hunters to characterize primate health in Southern Guyana. American Journal of Primatology e23622. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23622.

Milstein M.S., Shaffer C.A., Suse P., Marawanaru A., Heinrich D.A., Larsen, P.A., Wolf T.M. 2022. A mixed-methods approach to understanding domestic dogs and disease transmission risk in an indigenous reserve in Guyana, South America. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 16(6):e0010469. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. Pntd.0010469

Milstein M.S., Shaffer C.A., Gillespie T.R., Terio K.A., Wolf T.M., Travis D.A. 2021. An ethnographic approach to characterizing zoonotic disease risk from bushmeat in an indigenous reserve in Guyana. Ecohealth 17:424-436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-021-01513-3