This figure shows the measured and forecasted growth and spread of CWD in white-tailed deer in th core area where CWD occurs in Wisconsin, USA.
Daniel P. Walsh, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
Daniel joined the Montana Unit in 2022. Daniel worked as a Disease Researcher with Colorado Division of Wildlife and as a Quantitative Ecologist at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center before joining the Montana Unit in 2022. He conducts applied research that develops and applies novel quantitative approaches in conjunction with field research to improve the health of wildlife populations. His research interests are broad, and he has worked on a wide array of taxonomic groups and wildlife health issues including chronic wasting disease, bighorn sheep respiratory disease, avian influenza, white nose syndrome, New Castle disease, among others. One focus of his current research is leveraging systems modeling to inform decision-making and applying scientific principles to the implementation of management efforts to improve the likelihood of desired outcomes. Additionally, Dr. Walsh has helped develop national surveillance strategies for avian influenza and white nose syndrome and has conducted extensive work with the World Animal Health Organisation and others to build wildlife health capacity globally. Dr. Walsh will teach courses in statistical methods for population dynamics and wildlife health modeling.
Daniel received graduate degrees in Fisheries and Wildlife and Statistics from Michigan State University and Colorado State University. He worked as a Disease Researcher with Colorado Division of Wildlife and as a Quantitative Ecologist at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.
Professional Experience
2011 – Present Quantitative Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison WI
2007 – 2011 Disease Researcher, Colorado Division of Wildlife
2003 – 2007 Research Assistant-Michigan State University
2000 – 2002 Research Assistant-Colorado State University
Education and Certifications
Ph. D. Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 2007
M. S. Statistics Michigan State University, 2007
M. S. Fish and Wildlife Biology, Colorado State University, 2002
B. S. Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 1999
Affiliations and Memberships*
Honorary Fellow, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Affiliate Faculty, South Dakota State University
Member of the Wildlife Disease Association
Member of the Wildlife Society
Member of the North Central Section of the Wildlife Society
Member of Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society
Science and Products
Application of a systems approach for management of chronic wasting disease
Integrating Science and Management to Assist with the Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease
Research in response to Florida’s emerging coral disease
Assessing the Ability of Incineration to Inactivate CWD Prions from Carcasses
Advancing the Use of RT-QuIC for Applications in CWD Management
Chronic Wasting Disease
Avian Influenza
Disease Ecology and Modeling
Pseudogymnoascus destructans detections by US county 2007-2022
Host vs. Pathogen Evolutionary Arms Race: Effects of Exposure History on Individual Response to a Genetically Diverse Pathogen
White-tailed deer and sharp-tailed grouse data used in constrained generalized additive models to enhance survival analyses and incorporate ecological theory
Expert assessments of hypotheses concerning the etiological agent(s) of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease collected during a rapid prototyping project
Pseudogymnoascus destructans detections by US county (2008-2012)
Pseudogymnoascus destructans survival at elevated temperatures - Artificial media count data
This figure shows the measured and forecasted growth and spread of CWD in white-tailed deer in th core area where CWD occurs in Wisconsin, USA.
Wildlife health capacity enhancement in Thailand through the World Organisation for Animal Health Twinning Program
Epidemiological modeling of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) reveals conditions for introduction and widespread transmission
Prion seeding activity in plant tissues detected by RT-QuIC
Metagenomic sequencing sheds light on microbes putatively associated with pneumonia-related fatalities of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Detection of prions from spiked and free-ranging carnivore feces
Chronic wasting disease: State of the science
Model-based surveillance system design under practical constraints with application to white-nose syndrome
Reyes, Anne Ballmann, Trevor J. Hefley, Ian McGahan, Robin Russell, Daniel P. Walsh, Juntao Zhu
Bayesian spatio-temporal survival analysis for all types of censoring with application to a wildlife disease study
Wildlife health surveillance: Gaps, needs and opportunities
Bayesian forecasting of disease spread with little or no local data
Population Monitoring
Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Example code for implementing physics-informed neural networks and generating simulated data
Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Optimization Software Version 2
Code for Assimilating ecological theory with empiricism: Using constrained generalized additive models to enhance survival analyses
Code for Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases
Science and Products
Application of a systems approach for management of chronic wasting disease
Integrating Science and Management to Assist with the Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease
Research in response to Florida’s emerging coral disease
Assessing the Ability of Incineration to Inactivate CWD Prions from Carcasses
Advancing the Use of RT-QuIC for Applications in CWD Management
Chronic Wasting Disease
Avian Influenza
Disease Ecology and Modeling
Pseudogymnoascus destructans detections by US county 2007-2022
Host vs. Pathogen Evolutionary Arms Race: Effects of Exposure History on Individual Response to a Genetically Diverse Pathogen
White-tailed deer and sharp-tailed grouse data used in constrained generalized additive models to enhance survival analyses and incorporate ecological theory
Expert assessments of hypotheses concerning the etiological agent(s) of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease collected during a rapid prototyping project
Pseudogymnoascus destructans detections by US county (2008-2012)
Pseudogymnoascus destructans survival at elevated temperatures - Artificial media count data
This figure shows the measured and forecasted growth and spread of CWD in white-tailed deer in th core area where CWD occurs in Wisconsin, USA.
This figure shows the measured and forecasted growth and spread of CWD in white-tailed deer in th core area where CWD occurs in Wisconsin, USA.
Wildlife health capacity enhancement in Thailand through the World Organisation for Animal Health Twinning Program
Epidemiological modeling of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) reveals conditions for introduction and widespread transmission
Prion seeding activity in plant tissues detected by RT-QuIC
Metagenomic sequencing sheds light on microbes putatively associated with pneumonia-related fatalities of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Detection of prions from spiked and free-ranging carnivore feces
Chronic wasting disease: State of the science
Model-based surveillance system design under practical constraints with application to white-nose syndrome
Reyes, Anne Ballmann, Trevor J. Hefley, Ian McGahan, Robin Russell, Daniel P. Walsh, Juntao Zhu
Bayesian spatio-temporal survival analysis for all types of censoring with application to a wildlife disease study
Wildlife health surveillance: Gaps, needs and opportunities
Bayesian forecasting of disease spread with little or no local data
Population Monitoring
Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Example code for implementing physics-informed neural networks and generating simulated data
Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Optimization Software Version 2
Code for Assimilating ecological theory with empiricism: Using constrained generalized additive models to enhance survival analyses
Code for Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government