Catherine Drew Harvell (born 1954) is a marine ecologist that researches ocean biodiversity and ocean health, specializing in diseases in marine ecosystems.

Early life and education

Harvell was born December 4, 1954, in the United States. Harvell completed her bachelor's degree in zoology with honors from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

in 1978. She remained at University of Alberta to complete a master's degree in zoology, supervised by Fu-Shiang Chia. She completed her thesis and graduated in 1981. She attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

to complete a Ph.D. in zoology and graduated in 1985.

Research career

In 1986, Harvell joined the faculty in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Her research group focuses on a range of topics, including marine invertebrate biology and diversity to climate change and its impacts on

disease ecology Disease ecology is a sub-discipline of ecology concerned with the mechanisms, patterns, and effects of Host–pathogen interaction, host-pathogen interactions, particularly those of infectious diseases. For example, it examines how Parasitism, para ...

. In 1998 Harvell co-edited a book with Ralph Tollrian on ''The Ecology and Evolution of Inducible Defenses''. In 2016, Harvell published her first book for the popular media, ''A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschkas' Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk''. The book explores Harvell's work as curator of the Cornell University Collection of Blaschka Invertebrate Models, which includes 570 detailed and highly accurate sculptures of marine creatures. Her second book in the popular press was published in 2019, titled ''Ocean Outbreak: Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease''. This book explores how corals, abalone, salmon, and starfish are being impacted by outbreaks of infectious diseases and suggestions actions that can be taken.

Awards and honors

Harvell's recognitions for her writing and professional accomplishments include: 2015 - Elected to the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Fellows Program 2016 - National Outdoor Book Award Winner, in the category of Natural History Literature for ''A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschkas’ Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk''. 2016 - The Best “Art Meets Science” Books of 2016, one of eight books named by '' Smithsonian Magazine'', for ''A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschkas’ Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk''. 2017 - Honorable Mention, Rachel Carson Environment Book Award, Society of Environmental Journalists, for ''A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschkas’ Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk.'' 2020 - Ecological Society of America (ESA) Sustainability Science Award, which recognizes the authors of the scholarly work that makes the greatest contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. 2020 -

PROSE Award The PROSE Awards (Professional and Scholarly Excellence) are presented by the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division. Presented since 1976, the awards annually recognize distinguished prof ...

for Biological Sciences, for ''Ocean Outbreak: Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease''. 2020 - Selected to give the Rachel Carson Lecture for the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

(AGU) Fall Meeting 2020 on "Oceanic Pandemics from Foundation to Keystone Species."

Personal life

Harvell is married with a daughter and a son who is a writer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvell, Drew American women scientists University of Washington alumni Fellows of the Ecological Society of America Living people University of Alberta alumni Cornell University faculty 1954 births 21st-century American women