Jessie Olson

Growing up in the Northwest Territories inspired Jessie to become a Veterinary Technician, as veterinary care in the Northwest Territories is limited and inaccessible to most communities. The core of her career in veterinary medicine has been assisting in pioneering northern Arctic community programs, addressing animal welfare, disease education, and providing veterinary medical access in remote communities. Her recent position as Head Veterinary Technician in the Galapagos Islands allowed her to apply her experience of working in remote communities while leading a team of veterinary students during spay neuter clinics on the remote islands in the Galapagos. She recently published a scientific paper with the local Galapagos government, documenting a canine distemper outbreak that occurred during her managerial position there; a virus that is also endemic amongst canine populations in the NWT. Throughout these endeavors, she became aware of the interconnectedness of cultural ways of life, domestic animal health, and wildlife health in remote communities such as in Canada’s North and the Galapagos Islands. She went back to school to obtain her degree in Biology to enhance her knowledge of ecology, virology, and immunology in hopes of bringing this education back to the North. Her Master's project is under the supervision of Dr. Frank van der Meer’s lab at the U of C and will be focusing on what specific virus families are infecting barren-ground caribou herds in northern Canada. The aim is to understand the impact of viruses on health and reproduction of northern caribou and to develop diagnostic tests that will enhance health and monitoring of these keystone species in the future.