Dawson Christensen, Doctoral Candidate

Originally from Kansas City (Kansas side he will be quick to tell you), Dawson has been passionate about wildlife since childhood through various early exposure experiences. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Conservation Science from Kansas State University in 2023, where he worked with small mammals and insects, and later completed a master’s degree in Entomology in 2025 with a focus on agricultural pests. Dawson also has several years of experience working with carnivores, including canids and felids. His passion for carnivore conservation led him to pursue a PhD at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, where he investigates the effects of roads on bobcat behavior, movement, and population genomics to better understand anthropogenic influences on carnivore ecology and inform strategies to mitigate road impacts on carnivores, and wildlife-vehicle collisions.