Kate Jackson (born 14 February 1972) is a Canadian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

who specializes in the study of

venomous snake ''Venomous snakes'' are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow ...

s in

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. She earned her PhD from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 2002. In her dissertation she concluded that a venom-delivery system evolved during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

era, approximately 25 million years ago. And from there three separate, more sophisticated, apparatuses developed.

Early life

Jackson was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on 14 February 1972. She credits her first encounter with a snake at the age of 5, as the inspiration for her career. She attended

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

for a year before transferring to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

to study herpetology. She graduated with honors in 1994. Her first trip to the region was in 1997. Jackson took an internship at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

and traveled to the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, starting her trip in

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

. She worked in Northern Congo, but she had to cut her research trip short when a scrape on her leg became infected and she had to be evacuated for treatment in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. Despite the early end, she collected several amphibian and reptile species, seven of which had never been collected in Congo before. She received funding from the Smithsonian to return to the Republic of Congo in 2005 to continue her research. The trip was difficult, due to flooding in the area, but she collected 130 species, including a six-foot long

water cobra ''Naja'' is a genus of venomous elapid snakes commonly known as cobras (or "true cobras"). Various species occur throughout Africa, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Several other elapid species are often called "cobras", such a ...

that she carried in her backpack because they did not have a bag large enough for it. In 2009 she was a finalist for the

Washington State Book Award The Washington State Book Awards is a literary awards program presented annually in recognition of notable books written by Washington authors in the previous year. The program was established in 1967 as the Governor's Writers Awards. Each year, u ...

in the history/biography category for her book on her work in Congo: ''Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo''. Around the same time took a sabbatical to diagnosis and recover from

transverse myelitis Transverse myelitis (TM) is a rare neurological condition wherein the spinal cord is Inflammation, inflamed. The adjective ''wikt:transverse#Adjective, transverse'' implies that the spinal inflammation (myelitis) extends horizontally throughout ...

, a neurological condition caused by a virus in the spine, mostly likely picked up on one of her African expeditions. Spinal damage had her using a wheelchair for a time. Jackson discovered a new species of snake with a team in 2015. It was named 'Radford's House Snake' and is only found in the

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

area of Africa. Jackson is currently working as a professor at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

in Washington State.

Awards

* 2011 Women of Discovery Award for Courage, WINGS WorldQuest

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Kate Canadian women biologists University of Toronto alumni 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 1972 births Living people Canadian herpetologists Women herpetologists Writers from Toronto Dalhousie University alumni Whitman College faculty Harvard University alumni Canadian women non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century Canadian biologists