Erin E. Collins

Erin E. Collins studied ecology and wildlife management at Michigan Technological University. She conducted her PhD research on Antarctic sea spider systematics and phylogeography at Central Michigan University. She subsequently worked as a fisheries geneticist for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, where she investigated the genetic mechanisms associated with the migration of steelhead and Chinook salmon in the Columbia River Basin. She continued to research the conservation genomics of Chinook salmon in California's Central Valley and of steelhead in British Columbia as a postdoctoral research associate in Dr. Meek's lab at Michigan State University (MSU). Currently, she is a postdoctoral research associate in the Booth and Homola labs at MSU where she uses environmental DNA to detect aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region. Erin's research interests lie in using genetic tools to uncover diversity, population dynamics, and presence of invasive species to aid conservation efforts of imperiled organisms.