Sarah Burgess-Herbert, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Genetics Division
Zoological Society of San Diego
Dr. Sarah Burgess-Herbert joined CRES in May 2007. She received her doctorate from the University of Hawaii in genetics, specializing in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology, where she studied native Hawaiian forest birds. She has extensive experience as both a laboratory and field biologist and is interested in developing tools for comprehending and mitigating the decline of threatened and endangered species and ecosystems.
Dr. Burgess-Herbert’s postdoctoral research is focused on developing and demonstrating the use of an emerging new technology known as “DNA barcoding” to help combat the bushmeat crisis. This illegal trade in wildlife parts threatens numerous species on multiple continents, including many primates in Africa and Latin America. In addition to establishing baseline species identification data through work in the Genetics Division laboratory, she is also working with the CRES Central Africa Regional Program to set up a basic genetics laboratory in Cameroon, Africa, for an assessment of the bushmeat trade in that country. By demonstrating the usefulness of DNA barcoding for evaluating the impacts of the bushmeat trade on species in Cameroon, Dr. Burgess-Herbert hopes to encourage the widespread use of this technology for wildlife conservation.
