Eric J. Wetzel
- Professor of Biology and Global Health Initiative Director
- Hays Science Hall 119 & 114
- 765-361-6074
- wetzele@wabash.edu
- Curriculum vitae
Eric Wetzel is a Professor of Biology and the Director of Wabash’s Global Health Initiative (GHI). Dr. Wetzel grew up in Pennsylvania and was an undergraduate at Millersville University. He earned his MS and PhD at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and later joined the Wabash faculty in 1996.
Dr. Wetzel’s teaching and research are on the biology of invertebrate animals with a focus on parasitic flatworms (especially digenetic trematodes), with much his work including students in field and laboratory work with hosts such as snails, frogs, insects, and crayfish. His current projects involve the ecology of local larval trematodes as well as soil-transmitted parasites that contaminate communities in Peru, S.A.
Dr. Wetzel has led >17 course-related immersion trips to the Gulf Coast, the coral reefs of Jamaica and Belize, and to the Amazonian rainforest, mountain, and urban regions of Peru. As the Director of the Wabash GHI, he works to help create opportunities for students to participate in global public health alongside partners in local, regional, and international communities. He collaborates with GHI-Peru Association to create and manage ongoing public health education workshops for women and children in Peru.
Dr. Wetzel enjoys interacting with students both inside and outside the classroom / lab. He enjoys spending time with his family, watching a variety of sports, reading, fishing, and involvement in the life of their church.
Education
Ph.D Biology (Ecological Parasitology), Wake Forest University, December 1995
M.S. Biology, Wake Forest University, May 1992
B.S. Biology, Millersville University, 1989
A.A. Life Science, Harrisburg Area Community College, 1987
Recent Course Offerings
BIO 111 & 112 – General Biology I & II
GHL/BIO 177 – Global Health
GHL 277 - Epidemiology (team-taught)
BIO 322 – Biology of the Invertebrates
BIO 326 – Parasitology
BIO 387 / 388 – Independent Study
Recent Presentations
Wetzel, EJ. 2026. Placing Students in Proximity to Disturbance: The Growth and Work of the Wabash GHI & Why Wabash Needs Global Health. Invited presentation, given at Big Bash 2026, "Paging Dr. Wally: A Symposium on Healthcare and the Liberal Arts." 6/5/26
Wetzel, EJ. 2025. The Wabash College & GHI-Peru. Invited Virutal Lunch presentation to the Indiana Public Health Association (IPHA), 3/18/25.
Wetzel, EJ. 2022. (in)Equity & (in)Justice in Global Public Health: Classroom Changes & Global Partners. Wabash College Ides of August, 8/19/22
Invited speaker, I Encuentro Nacional E Internacional Sobre “Inclusion de Personas con Discapacidad” [1st National and International Meeting about Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities; hosted by UNHEVAL and GHI-Peru Corazones Excepcionales (COEX), 3/19/21
Lakomek, E. & E. Wetzel. 2021. Implementation of an undergraduate community-based health initiative in response to COVID-19. Indiana Public Health Association Conference & Annual Meeting, April 9-10, 2021.
Wetzel, EJ. 2020. Worms & Warming: Transmission of Parasitic Helminths, an Invited Lecture as part of BIOL 352: ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE, an online course through the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, Mancelona, MI. July 29, 2020
Wetzel, EJ. 2020. “Voluntariado Internacional y Responsabilidad Social” – I Encuentro Internacional de Voluntariado de Responsabilidad Social Universitaria, Office of Social Responsibility, UNHEVAL, 8/8/20
Wetzel, EJ. 2019. “Community connections: Vulnerable populations, the Ministry of Health, and the Wabash College GHI in Peru.” Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru, 06 June.
Gunther, C., K. Johnson, C. North & E. Wetzel. 2018. Co-leader of Roundtable Discussion: Overcoming obstacles: Developing interdisciplinary undergraduate global health programs across institutional settings (Part II). AAC&U 2018 Annual Meeting, Jan 24-27, Washington, DC.
Recent Publications
Mejia, R, EM Aranda, L Ojeda, S Ocampos Benedetti, JJ Guzman, B Slatko, C Almazan, R Cimino, M Juarez,N Montellano Duran, EL Mansilla Flores, PA Vargas, A Kaur, NL Uzcategui, LE Mejia, K Keegan, ER Mejia, CC Oliveira Amorim, SM Geiger, RT Fujiwara, LM Llangari-Arizo, A Lopez, N Romero-Sandoval, I Guadalupe, LE Villanueva-Lizama, JV Cruz-Chan, MD Camones Rivera, E Montalvo Savino, C Pineda, EJ Wetzel, PJ Cooper. 2026. Distribution of nematophagous fungi and soil-transmitted helminths in outdoor built environments across Latin America. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 20(2): e0013990. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013990
Pineda, C, MD Camones Rivera, E Monvtalva Sabino, L Estela Mejia, KE Keegan, LP Patricio Alvarez, JJ Mora, F Espinoza Vega, ER Mejia, P.Olivas Herrera, E Palomino Pando, Z Zeng, AS de Oliveira, MJ Villar Mondragon, B Slatko, EJ Wetzel, R Mejia. 2025. Parasite contamination of soil in distinct Peruvian locations and outside built environments. Parasites & Vectors 18:134 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-06762-7
Mejia, R, B Slatko, C Almazan, R Cimino, A Krolwiecki, N Montellano Duran, JE Valera Aspetty, PA Vargas, CC Oliveira Amorim, SM Geiger, RT Fujiwara, JD Ramirez, LM Llangari-Arizo, I Guadalupe, LE Villanueva-Lizama, JV Cruz-Chan, ML Ojeda, EM Aranda, SO Benedetti, MD Camones Rivera, E Montalvo Savino, C Pineda, E Wetzel, & PH Cooper. 2024. Molecular testing of environmental samples as a potential source to estimate parasite infection. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 9(10):226.
Jacobsen, KH, CE Waggett, P Berenbaum, BR Bayles, GL Carlson, R English, CA Faerron Guzmán, ML Gartin, L Grant, T Henshaw, LL Iannotti, PJ Landrigan, N Lansbury, H Li, MY Lichtveld, KL McWhorter, JE Rettig, CN Sorensen, EJ Wetzel, DM Whitehead, PJ Winch, K Martin. 2024. Planetary Health Learning Objectives: Foundational knowledge for global health education in an era of climate change. The Lancet Planetary Health 8(9): e706-e713.
Zarate-Rendon, D.A., D. Godoy Padilla, S. Pizarro Carcausto, A. del Aguila, E. Wetzel, & J. Naupari Vasquez. 2023. Spatial analysis and risk mapping of Fasciola hepatica infection in dairy cattle at the Peruvian central highlands. Parasite Epidemiology and Control https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parepi.2023.e00329
Hernández Russo, Z, Cárdenas Callirgos, J, Garcia-Ayachi, A, and EJ Wetzel. 2022. Review of Dioctophyme renale: Etiology, morphology, biology, ecoepidemiology, pathogenesis, symptomatology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The Journal of Parasitology 108(2):180-191.
Montalvo-Sabino, E, Cipriano-Fonseca, F, Marcelo-Andrade, E, Rosas-Jara, DM, Mines-Huaman, WM, Capcha-Tucto, LN, Chávez-Chávez, C, Benites-Mendoza, B, Sandoval-Tolentino, M, Pineda-Castillo, CA,Cárdenas -Callirgos, J, Wetzel, EJ & Iannacone, J. 2014. Factors associated with contamination of public parks (Huanuco, Peru) by Toxocara canis eggs and other endoparasites of zoonotic importance. Neotropical Helminthology 8(2) Jul-Dec: 259-268.
Literak, I., P. Heneberg, J. Sitko, E. Wetzel, J. Cardenas Callirgos, M. Capek, D. Valle Basto, I. Papousek. 2013. An outbreak of eye trematode infection in small passerines in Peru caused by Philophthalmus lucipetus, an agent with a zoonotic potential spread by an invasive freshwater snail. Parasitology International 62(4): 390-396
Wetzel, E.J. 2009. Editorial - Opportunities for research in helminthology in Peru: My own experience. Neotropical Helminthology 3:5-6.
Wetzel, E.J. & E.W. Shreve*. 2003. The influence of habitat on the distribution and abundance of metacercariae of Macravestibulum obtusicaudum (Pronocephalidae) in a small Indiana stream. The Journal of Parasitology 89(5): 1088-1090.
Ferrell, D.L.* , N.J. Negovetich*, & E.J. Wetzel. 2001. Effect of temperature on the infectivity of metacercariae of Zygocotyle lunata (Digenea: Paramphistomidae). The Journal of Parasitology 87(1): 10-13.
Honors & Awards
Sustainable International Partnerships in Global Health. GLCA Grand Challenge and Internationalization Innovation Fund grant, Oct. 2022.
Lilly Equity & Inclusion Pedagogy Fellowship, 2021-2022 cohort, Wabash College
Wabash College Coss Faculty Development Fund grant for participation in Global Health Experiential Education workshop, Costa Rica, Jan. 2020.
McLain-McTurnan-Arnold Excellence in Teaching Award, April 25, 2019, given annually to “a member of the faculty who has distinguished him- or herself by innovative and engaging teaching.”
Butler-Turner Student-Alumni Engagement Award, Inaugural Recipient, May 9, 2017. Given by National Association of Wabash Men “to honor and recognize members of the Wabash faculty and staff who have made an outstanding contribution to Wabash College by distinguishing themselves through the investment of personal time and resources resulting in a significant impact on Wabash students and/or alumni.”
GLCA Internationalization Innovation Fund - Peru: Immersion scouting and networking trip, part of the Wabash College Collaborative Int’l Immersion Learning Proposal. Funded to lead a faculty trip to Peru. May 2017.
GLCA New Directions Initiative Grant, "Global Health as a New Direction: Next Steps", 2011
GLCA New Directions Initiative Grant, “Global Health as a New Direction: First Steps”, 2010
Faculty Development Grant in support of sabbatical work in Peru, Wabash College, Oct. 2009
Sabbatical extension for work on Global Health, Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts, Wabash College, Fall 2008.
McLain-McTurnan-Arnold Research Scholar Award, Wabash College, Spring 2003
Personal Blogs & Podcast
Podcast interview (with Milagros Ramos Coranado, GHI-Peru), “Medicine & Healthcare Around The World - Wabash GHI: Story of Exceptional Hearts”, released Feb. 2025
Podcast interview on the global health blog, "The Global Health Pursuit!" - "Student Lightbulb Moments: Parasites, NTD's, and Poverty" https://www.globalhealthpursuit.com/episode-show notes/26
Wabash Global Health Initiative webpage
Wetzel discusses his interests in biology, the intracies and impacts of immersion trips and the Global Health Initiative.