| Judith H. Myers | |
| Birth Place: | Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Nationality: | Canadian, American |
| Fields: | Ecology and entomology the population cycle, biological pest control, introduced species |
| Workplaces: | University of British Columbia University of Edinburgh |
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| Academic Advisors: | Charles J. Krebs |
| Notable Students: | Jens Roland |
| Known For: | Ecological entomology, biocontrol, population cycles, tent caterpillars |
| Spouse: | J.N.M. (Jamie) Smith (b. 1944 d. 2005) |
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| Children: | 2 |
Judith (Judy) H. Myers is a Canadian-American ecologist. In 2014, she was elected president of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution,[1] and served in that role until 2016. Professor Myers is well known for her decades-long research into plant-animal-microbe interactions, including insect pest outbreaks, viral pathogens of insects, and pioneering work on biological control of insects and plants,[2] [3] [4] particularly invasive species.[5] Throughout her career she has advocated strongly for both the public understanding of science and for increasing the number of women in the STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Myers was a trustee of the Entomological Society of Canada. In 2004, she was awarded its gold medal for her contributions to the theory and practice of biological control.[6] She also won the McCarthy Award from the Professional Pest Management Association of British Columbia. As a published author, she is widely held in libraries worldwide.[7]
Myers is known[8] for her work on population cycles[9] spanning more than four decades. She has made important contributions to understanding cycling dynamics through theory, reviews, and data via her long-term monitoring of western tent caterpillars.[10]
Early in her career Myers became one of the pioneers for studying biocontrol.[11] Her research takes an interdisciplinary, collaborative, inclusive approach to the management of environmental pest problems. She emphasizes the importance of long-term ecological data with which to challenge and inform ecological models.[12]
Myers is currently (since 2006) Professor Emerita in the Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She joined the faculty in 1972 after being a Miller Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley (1970-1972).[13] She was cross-appointed to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (now Faculty of Land and Food Systems).[14] Myers worked with fellow ecologists Charles Krebs, Tony (Anthony) R.E. Sinclair and her late husband, Jamie (James N.M.) Smith,[15] initially in the Institute of Animal Resource Ecology and later in the Biodiversity Centre at UBC.
In addition to research, Myers made lasting contributions to teaching at UBC, notably developing the long-running 'Conservation Biology' course.
Myers has served on various NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) committees, particularly those related to women in science including the Women's Faculty Award Committee and the Women in Science and Engineering Chair Program. She was a member of the NSERC Biological Control Network and was Theme leader – Greenhouses (2001-2006) and co-theme leader – New, improved microbial agents for management of insect pests (2001-2006).
She is the mother of Iain and Isla Myers-Smith, who were born in Vancouver, British Columbia and Canberra, Australia respectively. Isla Myers-Smith is a professor at the University of British Columbia[16] and honorary fellow at the University of Edinburgh.[17]
Myers was at the forefront of Canadian post-secondary education's efforts to recruit more women in STEM fields during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when she was Associate Dean of Science at the University of British Columbia. At that time simply discussing data related to the leaky pipeline[18] could be contentious. Myers is quoted on p. 298 of Martin Loney's 1998 book critiquing what he described as identity politics in Canadian post-secondary education, The Pursuit of Division: Race, Gender, and Preferential Hiring in Canada.[19] Loney challenged Myers to produce data to support her assertion that policies impeding women being hired were operating during the 1960s. Research into the complex nature of barriers to women being hired in the post-secondary education STEM sector has since expanded significantly. Judy Myers continues to be a strong advocate for women in STEM.
Myers describes some of her own experiences as a woman in STEM (including being the first person to take maternity leave in the UBC Faculty of Science[20]) in a special issue of the journal Evolutionary Applications.[21]
In addition to her 2014-2016 presidency of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE),[22] Myers is past President of the Canadian Coalition for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) and of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology.