When Dr. Adam Ford spots a mule deer meandering through a subdivision, he loves knowing not just what she eats, but where she spent the last summer and her routes through the Okanagan landscape. Most importantly, he loves knowing his research supports this deer’s very existence in BC.

It’s this kind of real-world impact that led Dr. Ford to be named UBC Okanagan’s 2024 Researcher of the Year in Natural Sciences and Engineering. As the Canada Research Chair in Wildlife Restoration Ecology (Tier 2) and an Associate Professor in Biology, Dr. Ford leads the Wildlife Restoration Ecology (WiRE) Lab to explore how humans affect the predators and prey around them.

Ford’s team views humans as an essential part of ecosystems, influencing how animals interact and thrive. The lab uses a combination of field experiments, GPS tracking of wildlife, computer modelling, and satellite imagery to improve our understanding of how animals move, what they eat, and how their populations grow. They investigate how things like forestry practices, urban growth, and highways affect wildlife populations and how they move through the landscape.

Donor support played a significant role in expanding the impact of Dr. Ford’s work. A gift in 2023 helped the WiRE lab purchase vital research equipment, such as GPS collars for cougars and deer. It also allowed him to hire a research associate, Chloe Howarth, who coordinates operations and field research.

“Having Chloe Howarth here has been the most significant step forward for our team since the lab began in 2016,” says Dr. Ford. “Chloe is very talented at seeing where help is needed, and acting, before anyone can ask. We are very fortunate she is working with us—it has enabled me to recruit two new graduate students and build momentum for the next phase of our deer, cougar, and other wildlife work.”

In addition to her own work, Chloe takes the lead in coordinating opportunities for student researchers to be part of this vital work. This means the philanthropic support has had the domino effect of allowing more students the chance to develop skills and experiences that will enable them to shape a healthier planet for our future.

“Working in the WiRE Lab has allowed me to gain valuable experience in a variety of areas related to wildlife ecology and conservation,” says Chloe. “I have especially enjoyed the opportunities to collaborate with diverse stakeholders—and to develop my own skills as a scientist. I am excited to see where this role takes me over the coming years!”

Dr. Ford’s research often follows the lead of Indigenous conservation and restoration. His engagement with communities and governmental organizations can lead to action on the ground well before academic publications, like when he saw the threat of chronic wasting disease (CWD) entering BC through Alberta and Montana. Sometimes called “zombie deer disease,” this fatal illness causes animals to become lethargic and waste away. It can spread through the deer family to caribou—which have declining populations across Canada—and there’s a risk that CWD could jump the species barrier to humans through infected meat.

Upon seeing this risk, Dr. Ford rapidly put together a study that identified gaps in provincial sampling where CWD could cross into BC undetected. The data went directly to the BC Government, which resulted in changes to the mandatory deer testing areas. In early 2024, the BC government documented the first case of CWD—in one of the same hotspots predicted by Dr. Ford’s lab.

Dr. Ford points to donor funding and support from UBC Okanagan as being critical in allowing him to act quickly, getting tracking collars out in the field as soon as they were needed.

“I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be to do this work. I can look out my front door and know there are grizzly bears, elk migrations, wildfire… All the dynamics that go into our work are right here.”

He notes that his Researcher of the Year recognition is due to years of hard work, not just by him, but by everyone in the WiRE lab, together with the support that has been donated to his research.

“This award is testament to the hard work of my students and staff and the trust our partners have put in us. We’re tackling problems that matter to people, and we’re making a difference.”