Dr. Nina Hansen, DVM, Ph.D.
Department Head
Assistant Professor of Physiology
Biography
I grew up in suburban Chicago but have called Fairbanks home since 2007 - the year I graduated from veterinary school. After a few years in practice I decided to pursue a PhD at UAF and my thesis focused on developing novel methods for detecting bacterial disease in wildlife. My favorite part of my graduate work was the portions of two summers that I spent on the North Slope of Alaska conducting fieldwork with white-fronted geese.
I am attracted to veterinary work that gets me out and about in Alaska and my current research focuses on sled dog physiology and on bacterial disease surveillance in wildlife. I have recently begun to combine these loves and am investigating disease transmission between sled dogs and peri-domestic wildlife.
In the UAF curriculum I teach our first year veterinary physiology and histology course, research and methods course, and bacteriology. Every other fall I teach an undergraduate wildlife disease course. I also offer externships to third and fourth year veterinary students to work with racing sled dogs during mid-distance races.
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my two dogs (retired sled dogs, of course), playing ice hockey, skiing, knitting, gardening, fishing, and cooking.
Select Publications:
Davis MS, WM Bayly, CM Hansen, MR Barrett, CA Blake. 2024. Effects of hyperthermia and acidosis on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. J Appl Physiol 137:1678-1689. DOI:10.1152/japplphysiol.00418.2024
Hattendorf JC, MS Davis, CM Hansen. 2024. Evaluating injuries and illnesses that occurred during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, 2018-2020. Front Vet Sci DOI:10.3389/fvets.2024.1356061
Davis MS, W Bayly, CM Hansen, M Barrett, C Blake. 2023. Effects of hyperthermia and acidosis on mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00177.2023
Shiomitsu S, CM Hansen, M Lenfest, CW Frye, JJ Wakshlag. 2022. Serum myostatin decreases in exercising and aging Alaskan sled dogs, while growth and differentiation faction 15 remains unaltered. JAVMA doi: 10.2460/javma.22.07.0323
Gamble LJ, CW Frye, CM Hansen, JW Locasale, X Liu, MS Davis, JJ Wakshlag. 2018. Serum metabolomics of Alaskan sled dogs during endurance racing. Comp Exer Phys 14(3):149-159. doi: 10.3920/CEP1800100
Frye CW, Mann S, Joseph J, CM Hansen, Sass B, Wakshlag J. 2018. Serum biochemistry and inflammatory cytokines in racing endurance sled dogs with and without rhabdomyolysis. Front Vet Sci 5:145. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00145
Devall VC, R Goggs, CM Hansen, CW Frye, JA Letendre, M Brunke, JJ Wakshlag. 2018. Serum myoglobin, creatinine kinase, and cell free DNA in endurance sled dogs and sled dogs with clinical rhabdomyolysis. J Vet Emerg Crit Care doi: 10.1111/vec.12731
Hansen CM, KB Beckmen. 2018 Butorphanol-azaperone-medetomidine for the immobilization of captive caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) in Alaska, USA. J Wildl Dis 54(3).
Hansen CM, E Himschoot, BW Meixell, C Van Hemert, K Hueffer. 2017. Neisseria arctica sp. nov., isolated from nonviable eggs of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) in Arctic Alaska. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 67:1115-1119.
Hansen CM, B Meixell, C Van Hemert, RF Hare, K Hueffer. 2015. Microbial infections are associated with embryo mortality in Arctic-nesting geese. Appl Environ Microbiol 81(16):5583-5592.