Tuula Hollmen

Tuula Hollmén serves as Senior Research Scientist at the Alaska SeaLife Center and Research Associate Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, where she has established herself as a pioneering expert in marine ecology and veterinary epidemiology. After earning her DVM in 1992 and PhD in physiological ecology in 2002, she has built an extraordinary career spanning three decades of research on seabird ecology and marine conservation. Her groundbreaking work includes establishing the first successful captive breeding program for threatened Steller's eiders in North America and providing crucial insights into climate change impacts on Arctic lagoons. As Science Director at the Alaska SeaLife Center from 2010-2015 and Eider Program Manager from 2002-2020, she has led major conservation initiatives while serving on multiple recovery teams and advisory panels. Her research, cited over 1,200 times, combines veterinary expertise with ecological approaches to understand how marine species adapt to environmental change, particularly focusing on seabirds and Arctic ecosystems. Through her joint appointment with the Center for One Health Research, she champions interdisciplinary approaches to conservation challenges while maintaining active engagement in citizen science and participatory research initiatives. Her recent work examines coastal wetland salinization and its consequences for Arctic waterfowl, demonstrating her continued commitment to understanding and addressing climate change impacts on northern marine ecosystems.