Jennifer Link joins the University of Rhode Island as an Assistant Professor of Animal Health and Welfare in the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, bringing her expertise in animal behavior and a particular interest in improving the lives of cats in shelters.
Link grew up in Parsippany, New Jersey, and initially thought she would become a veterinarian. After attending a magnet high school specializing in animal science, she discovered that her real passion was ethology—the study of animal behavior. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arcadia University, a master’s degree in psychological science from SUNY New Paltz and a Ph.D. in animal behavior from UC Davis.
Q. What are you exploring in your research?
I am most excited to get to explore new ways of improving the lives of domestic cats in the shelter, and finding ways to reduce length of stay! In particular, I’ve had a keen interest lately in the social behavior of socially housed cats, as colony housing has become more common in shelter settings. I want to better understand how many cats can peacefully co-exist in different spaces, and how we can best match up cats to live together both in the shelter and the home to avoid agonistic interactions and conflict in those spaces.
How would you explain your research to someone unfamiliar with the field?
I often describe it as I am trying to find ways to improve the care and management of shelter cats to make their time in the shelter as stress-free and brief as possible.
What will you be teaching at URI?
In my first semester, I’ll be coteaching Intro to Animal Science (AVS 101). I also hope to develop a course in research methods for undergraduate AVS students to help introduce undergrads to the basics of conducting and interpreting research.
What are you reading, watching, or listening to lately (academic or otherwise)?
Unfortunately I haven’t had much time to read for fun lately, but I have been watching fun things to unwind like Widow’s Bay and Silo, and my recent cross-country road trip from California was mostly enriched by Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast.