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Dr. Gaines’ research interests primarily focus on wildlife toxicology at the landscape level.  Most of her work involves developing spatial models that predict how different wildlife species may be exposed to contaminants such as radionuclides, metals and organics and how that may impact environmental health.  Her work also focuses on spatially explicit biokinetic models for a variety of wildlife species. To accomplish this, she studies energy flow within different environmental systems (using stable isotopes). Dr. Gaines applies her research by developing tools within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework to aid in ecological risk assessments.  She works closely with and has been funded by the Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), as well as other national and international organizations. Graduate students who are interested in working with Dr. Gaines should have a general background in wildlife ecology and interests in learning GIS techniques to explore questions regarding environmental health.
Contact:
Dr. Karen F. Gaines
Eastern Illinois University
Department of Biological Sciences
600 Lincoln Ave
Charleston IL, 61920-3099

Office: 217.581.3126
Direct: 217.581.6235
Email: kfgaines@eiu.edu