Rate My Professor Elliott Zieman

Elliott Zieman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Eastern Illinois University, where he joined the tenure-track faculty in fall 2020. A native of northern Illinois, he completed all his degrees at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale: B.Sc. in Zoology in August 2011, M.Sc. in Zoology with an emphasis in Parasitology in December 2013, and Ph.D. in Zoology with an emphasis in Parasitology in August 2018. His master's thesis investigated the distribution and genetic structure of Deladenus proximus, a nematode parasite of the woodwasp Sirex nigricornis in the eastern United States, under advisors F. Agustín Jiménez and John D. Reeve. His doctoral dissertation, advised by Clayton K. Nielsen and F. Agustín Jiménez, focused on the pathology and epizootiology of Cytauxzoon felis. Prior to EIU, Zieman began his professional academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Wilmington College in Ohio.

Zieman's research specializes in disease ecology and host-parasite interactions of vector-borne parasites. He primarily studies the apicomplexan parasite Cytauxzoon felis, which causes severe and often fatal cytauxzoonosis in domestic cats while establishing chronic infections in bobcats, the natural reservoir host. His investigations employ molecular DNA analyses and microscopic morphological examinations, also encompassing other emerging pathogens such as Trypanosoma cruzi in raccoons and the expansion of Gulf Coast ticks carrying Rickettsia parkeri in Illinois. Notable publications include "Three new species of Cytauxzoon in European wild felids" (Veterinary Parasitology, 2021), "Chronic Cytauxzoon felis infections in wild-caught bobcats (Lynx rufus)" (Veterinary Parasitology, 2018), "Concurrent examination of bobcats and ticks reveals high prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis in southern Illinois" (Journal of Parasitology, 2017), and "Trypanosoma cruzi strain TcIV infects raccoons from Illinois" (Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2018). In October 2025, he received the Undergraduate Research Mentor Award from EIU's Interim Provost for his student-collaborative research on parasites affecting wildlife and domestic animals. Zieman serves as Chair of the Education Committee for the American Society of Parasitologists and advises EIU's Herpetology Club.