Kristin Brzeski

Kristin Brzeski is a conservation geneticist who conducts research at the intersection of applied conservation and wildlife ecology. As an associate professor at Michigan Technological University in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, she uses noninvasive genetics and a variety of field-based techniques to unravel the ecology of little-known species and protect endangered wildlife. With a primary focus on wolf and coyote genetics, Kristin has made significant contributions in her field as co-director of the Gulf Coast Canine Project and contributor to the Canine Ancestry Project. In addition to her canine research, Kristin is a co-founder of Biodiversity Initiative, a conservation organization focused on the protection of biodiversity in Central Africa through the collaborative creation, study, and management of protected areas.

Brzeski was featured in a recent TIME magazine cover story for her groundbreaking work to help save one of the most endangered species in the US, the red wolf. 

Her discovery of red wolf "ghost alleles" in wild canids along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas laid the genetic groundwork for Colossal Biosciences' creation of the first-ever Ghost Wolf — and animal with the potential to help restore red wolf populations before they vanish entirely.

One common across the Southeast, fewer than 20 red wolves survive in the wild today. But thanks to this pioneering collaboration, hope is far from extinct.

Read the story in TIME and learn more about Brzeski's work at Tech.

Updated April 2025