Katherine Hanselman
- Doctoral Aspirant
Contact Info
Lawrence
Biography —
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kirsten Jensen
Research Interest: I am interested in the diversity, morphology, and taxonomy of the tapeworms of sharks and rays.
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Education —
B.S. in Biochemistry, University of Kansas, 2022, Lawrence, KS
M.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 2024, Lawrence, KS
Selected Publications —
Hanselman, K. M., R. Gobiraj, and K. Jensen. 2025. Revision of the lecanicephalidean genus Flapocephalus Deshmukh, 1979 (Eucestoda) from cowtail rays (genus Pastinachus) (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) with the description of 4 new species. Journal of Parasitology. 111: 582–605. doi: 10.1645/24-92.
Winata, K., J. A. Zhu, K. M. Hanselman, E. Zerbe, J. Langguth, N. Folino-Rorem, and P. Cartwright. 2024. Life cycle transitions in the freshwater jelly fish Craspedacusta sowerbii. MDPI Biology 13(12): 1069.
doi: 10.3390/biology/13121069.
Selected Presentations —
- Hanselman, K. M. and K. Jensen. Fretting over guitarfishes: Exploring patterns of diversity of species of Polypocephalus (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) parasitizing members of the Rhinopristiformes. Annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Orlando Florida. July 26–29, 2026. Oral Presentation.
- Hanselman, K. and K. Jensen. Taxonomic evaluation of the tapeworm genus Polypocephalus and the status of its type species in a phylogenetic context. 11th International Workshop on Cestode Systematics and Phylogeny, Reykjavik, Iceland. June 1–6, 2026. Poster Presentation.
- Hanselman, K. and K. Jensen. The taxonomic troubles of non-trypanorhynchan tentacular tapeworms. Annual meeting of the Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, West Bay Casino and Resort, Lake Texoma, Oklahoma. April 9–11, 2026. Oral Presentation.
- Hanselman, K. M. and K. Jensen. Steppingstones to resolving Polypocephalus. Annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. July 7–10, 2025.Poster Presentation.
- Hanselman, K. M. and K. Jensen. New species of “Polypocephalus” parasitizing the eagle ray genus Aetomylaeus—in search of clade-defining features. Annual meeting of the Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, West Bay Casino and Resort, Lake Texoma, Oklahoma. April 10–12, 2025.Oral presentation.
- Hanselman, K. M. and K. Jensen. The phylogenetic placement of lecanicephalideans parasitizing the cowtail stingray genus Pastinachus. Annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Denver, Colorado. June 13–17, 2024. Poster Presentation.
- Hanselman, K. and K. Jensen. Lecanicephalidean fauna of the stingray genus Pastinachus and the problem that is Polypocephalus. 10th International Workshop on Cestode Systematics and Phylogeny, Warsaw, Poland. August 5 – 10, 2023. Poster presentation.
- Hanselman, K. and K. Jensen. Flaps, Spikes, and Tentacles: Diversity of lecanicephalidean tapeworms parasitizing cowtail rays. Annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, InterContinental Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri. July 12 – 16, 2023. Oral presentation.
- Hanselman, K. and K. Jensen. Reexamination of species diversity and host associations of the elasmobranch tapeworm genus Anteropora. Annual meeting of the Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, University of Oklahoma Field Station, Lake Texoma, Oklahoma. April 13 – 15, 2023. Oral presentation.
- Hanselman, K. and K. Jensen. The identity of a little-known group of lecanicephalidean tapeworms parasitizing cowtail rays in the Indo-Pacific region. International Congress of Parasitology, Copenhagen, Denmark. August 21 – 26, 2022. Poster presentation.
Awards & Honors —
- Meritorious Oral Presentation Award, American Society of Parasitologists, July 2026
- Outstanding Poster Presentation Award, American Society of Parasitologists, July 2025
- Marc Dresden Outstanding Student Paper Award, Southwestern Association of Parasitology, April 2023.
- Marc Dresden Travel Award, American Society of Parasitology, July 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026