Dr. Hillary Young

Biography

I am a community ecologist in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at UC Santa Barbara. I received my B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University and an M.A. in Environmental Management at Yale University, where I focused on applied forest management questions. I received my Ph.D. in Biology in the Dirzo Lab at Stanford University. My dissertation investigated the cascading effects of changes in plant communities on the whole ecosystem and community structure. After my Ph.D., I was a postdoctoral researcher jointly affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University, where I examined the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on mammal communities and, ultimately, on zoonotic diseases.

Research

My lab seeks to understand how and when anthropogenic disturbances will likely drive cascading changes in community structure and function, focusing on implications for human health and conservation.