Peter Kessinger

Graduate Student

Peter Kessinger is a Ph.D. student in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences with the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, working with Dr. Sheryl Magzamen. He is currently working on several infectious disease projects, including vector habitat suitability, fungal spore aerosolization, and pathogen habitat suitability. Peter is trained in data analysis, modeling, geospatial analysis, and several air sampler types, and is a certified drone pilot. 

Recently, Peter was selected as one of five student projects that received funding for a One Health Student Award. Peter’s funded project, Analysis of Coccidioides and Valley Fever in Arizona: A Habitat Suitability Analysis, will investigate the connections between human, animal, and environmental health leading to the fungal infection Coccidioides and Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as Valley Fever, which primarily affects the lungs of people and animals. 

Using the One Health approach, his study aims to develop predictive maps by examining environmental factors, such as soil composition and land use, that influence the spread of Coccidioides spores that cause Coccidioidomycosis. The project will also assess disease patterns in human and animal populations to identify hotspots and trends in outbreaks.

Peter’s goal is to help expand the tools available for public health departments so that those health departments can be better prepared to protect and aid individuals.

Peter has lived in Colorado since 1997, and has lived in Fort Collins since 2016. He got his undergraduate degree in Biomedical sciences and Environmental and radiological Health sciences in 2020 from Colorado State University and got his master’s in Environmental Health sciences with a specialization in Epidemiology in 2022, also from Colorado State University. Peter is now working on his Ph.D. in Environmental Health with the goal of graduating in the Spring of 2025.

When he’s not working, he likes to walk around Fort Collins with his dog, spend time at one of Fort Collins’ many breweries, tailgate CSU football games, and hang out with friends. He also likes to hike the nearby Rocky Mountains and Rocky Mountain National Park, and one of his goals is to summit all the Colorado 14ers. Peter enjoys paddle boarding in Horsetooth Reservoir and camping throughout the state. When things get a little colder, he likes skiing and snowshoeing in the surrounding mountains.