Person

Sarah Ashley Schrock

Grad Teaching Assistant | School of Natural Resources
Overview

I am interested in just about any aspect of wildlife and ecology, but my main focus is in wildlife disease ecology. I worked as an epidemiologist in the public health sector for about five years. But I am now refocusing my career to study wildlife. In the summer of 2021, I had the pleasure of working on a statewide assessment of alligator snapping turtles with the University of Houston. Since then, I worked as an assistant keeper at Zoo Knoxville before starting my graduate program at UT. I am honored to be a part of the FWF Department and to have the opportunity to study the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). My research will combine fieldwork and mathematical modeling to better understand the factors influencing long-term Bd persistence in amphibian species in eastern Tennessee. 

Research Focus

Wildlife Disease Ecology

Research Questions
  • The overall goal my research is to decompose the factors leading the long-term persistence of pathogens in wildlife communities. This research will focus on the amphibian fungal pathogen Bd and will (1) Quantify the seasonal dynamics of fungal infections in amphibian communities in eastern TN (2) Estimate the relative abundance of amphibian species in these communities (3) Combine this information with mathematical modeling to analyze the relative contributions of amphibian species to long-term Bd persistence
Picture of Sarah Ashley Schrock
429K4 Agriculture and Natural Resource Building
2431 Joe Johnson Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Education and Training
  • MS, Epidemiology, University of Colorado Denver, 2016

Sarah Ashley Schrock

Grad Teaching Assistant | School of Natural Resources
Picture of Sarah Ashley Schrock image
429K4 Agriculture and Natural Resource Building
2431 Joe Johnson Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Education and Training
  • MS, Epidemiology, University of Colorado Denver, 2016
Overview

I am interested in just about any aspect of wildlife and ecology, but my main focus is in wildlife disease ecology. I worked as an epidemiologist in the public health sector for about five years. But I am now refocusing my career to study wildlife. In the summer of 2021, I had the pleasure of working on a statewide assessment of alligator snapping turtles with the University of Houston. Since then, I worked as an assistant keeper at Zoo Knoxville before starting my graduate program at UT. I am honored to be a part of the FWF Department and to have the opportunity to study the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). My research will combine fieldwork and mathematical modeling to better understand the factors influencing long-term Bd persistence in amphibian species in eastern Tennessee. 

Research Focus

Wildlife Disease Ecology

Research Questions
  • The overall goal my research is to decompose the factors leading the long-term persistence of pathogens in wildlife communities. This research will focus on the amphibian fungal pathogen Bd and will (1) Quantify the seasonal dynamics of fungal infections in amphibian communities in eastern TN (2) Estimate the relative abundance of amphibian species in these communities (3) Combine this information with mathematical modeling to analyze the relative contributions of amphibian species to long-term Bd persistence