Jason R. Rohr is an American biologist and an academic. He is the Galla Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, USA.
Rohr's research has explored how human-driven environmental changes—such as pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss—have affected ecosystems, disease transmission, and public health. He has studied amphibian declines, freshwater systems, zoonotic diseases, and sustainable food production, and has conducted field studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling to address global challenges.
In 2024, he was awarded the International Frontiers Planet Prize by the Frontiers Research Foundation and was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017.
Education.
Rohr received a dual B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies in 1996 followed by an M.A. in Teaching Biology in 1997 from Binghamton University. Later, in 2002, he completed his Ph.D. in Ecology and Behavior from the same institution.
Career.
After completing his PhD, Rohr joined the University of Kentucky in 2002 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, a position he held until 2004. From 2004 to 2007, he was a Research Associate at Penn State University. In 2007, he joined the University of South Florida as an Assistant Professor, becoming Associate Professor in 2011 and Full Professor in 2017, serving until 2019.
In 2019, Rohr was appointed as the endowed Ludmilla F., Stephen J., and Robert T. Galla Professor in Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. He is also the chair of department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame.
Media coverage.
Rohr's work has been featured in media outlets, including "Fox News", and "World News", as well as in an opinion piece authored by Andrew C. Revkin and published in "The New York Times". His paper on global change drivers and the risk of infectious disease was also covered by "The New York Times", wherein the paper was called valuable for revealing broad patterns within ecosystems.
Rohr's research has also been cited in "The New Yorker", "The Tampa Times", "The Guardian", "The Atlantic", "Reuters", "National Geographic", "Nature" and "Science" magazines, and on "NPR".
Research.
Rohr has made contributions to the disciplines of behavioral ecology, arthropod ecology and conservation, amphibian ecology and conservation, ecotoxicology, global change and infectious disease biology, and sustainability and health.
Arthropod ecology and conservation.
Rohr's research on arthropods has spanned monitoring biodiversity responses to environmental changes, including forest declines, agricultural land use, and pesticide exposure. His studies on carnivorous plants and arthropods revealed cross-kingdom competition, and his macroinvertebrate surveys documented significant changes in stream insect populations due to human-induced environmental shifts.
Fundamental disease ecology.
Rohr's laboratory contributed to understanding resistance and tolerance in host-parasite systems, revealing how life-history traits shape disease susceptibility. His research also examined co-infections and how parasite interactions depend on host ontogeny and immune responses. He developed statistical models to analyze parasite associations.
Amphibian conservation and disease.
Rohr's work has also focused on amphibian declines linked to infectious diseases. His lab presented evidence against the belief that the chytrid fungus was amphibian-specific, demonstrating its persistence in other hosts. His research on agrochemicals revealed links between pesticide exposure and increased parasite infections in amphibians. He also showed that environmental factors, such as temperature and pollution interact, to exacerbate amphibian disease susceptibility and associated declines. His lab also explored vaccination as a conservation tool, demonstrating that amphibians can develop resistance to chytrid infections through exposure to fungal metabolites.