Tegwin Taylor: Outstanding contribution by an external partner to sustainability research
Tegwin Taylor, raised in a rural Iowa community, always knew she would be a scientist. Her grandfather was a veterinarian. 鈥淚 honestly did not consider any other career path,鈥 she said.聽
Scientific inquiry drives Taylor. It motivated her to pursue a master鈥檚 in public health and focus on infectious diseases, examining the interconnectedness of human health, animal health, and the environment.
Subsequent roles as a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
veterinary epidemiologist, an Acting One Health Coordinator for the National Park Service, and a crew supervisor and volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center鈥檚 Monterey Bay Operations
further developed her expertise in the intersections between public health and wildlife disease.
Taylor originally moved to 海角社区 to pursue a doctorate in ecology and environmental sciences at U海角社区. Her studies slowed down when new opportunities arose, and she accepted a full-time position as a wildlife health biologist at (MDIFW). One of her primary roles at MDIFW is to assist with PFAS, the so-called 鈥淔orever Chemicals鈥, surveillance in 海角社区鈥檚 wildlife 鈥 a complex multidimensional problem connected to the health of 海角社区rs, the environment, and wildlife 鈥 and it鈥檚 a role Taylor is uniquely suited for.
Her nominator, Dr. Caroline Noblet, an associate professor of economics at U海角社区 said, 鈥淭egwin has helped U海角社区 researchers connect and form multiple teams, including 海角社区 Department Inland Fisheries and Wildlife personnel (biologist, communication specialists) with U海角社区 researchers and students from a variety of disciplines, to tackle ‘wicked’ questions about PFAS in 海角社区’s wildlife.鈥
In 2023, the Mitchell Center convened a meeting attended by state officials, agency researchers, and U海角社区 faculty to discuss priorities for addressing PFAS contamination in wildlife. Several U海角社区 research projects emerged from this meeting, and Taylor serves as an advisor.
One project focuses on hunters’ perceptions of PFAS and how PFAS are potentially impacting their behaviors and interest in hunting. Another study investigates PFAS buildup in wood turtles, a species that is experiencing widespread decline in the eastern U.S. Wood turtles spend their winters fully submerged in small to midsized streams, including some streams with high concentrations of PFAS. Taylor also helps facilitate a study examining how PFAS in wildlife may impact overall health, examining the animals鈥 microbiomes, fitness parameters, and immune responses.
When Taylor took the role at MDIFW, she acknowledged that she was disheartened by the breadth of challenges created by PFAS contamination. But, her collaborations with colleagues and researchers on the local, state, and federal levels has changed her perspectives.
鈥淚 think the monster of an issue that PFAS is, everyone really values the collaboration and realizes that it really takes a village. We would not be able to do what we鈥檝e been able to do without the collaboration of landowners impacted by PFAS, our state鈥檚 leadership and inter-agency colleagues as well as the university,鈥 Taylor said.