In 2009, Gideon founded PrimatesPeru (later to become FPI) along with Mini Watsa.  Between 2011 and 2017 he completed a doctorate in biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) with an emphasis on ecology, evolution and systematics. With FPI, he has conducted research on parasite ecology, infectious disease, and primate natural history. Currently, he is a post-doctoral research associate at Washington University in St. Louis, working in the laboratory of Dr. Jennifer Philips. There, he analyzes transcriptional changes in immune cells (primarily macrophages and T cells) that have been exposed to various strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). For more information, view his webpage here.

Selected Publications:

• Erkenswick, Gideon & Watsa, Mrinalini & Gozalo, Alfonso & Dudaie, Shay & Bailey, Lindsey & Muranda, Kudakwashe & Kuziez, Alaa & Parker, Patricia. (2019). A multiyear survey of helminths from wild saddleback (Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor (Saguinus imperator) tamarins. American Journal of Primatology. 81. 10.1002/ajp.23063.
• Erkenswick, G.A., Watsa, M., Pacheco, M.A., Escalante, A.A. and Parker, P.G., 2017. Chronic Plasmodium brasilianum infections in wild Peruvian tamarins. PLoS One, 12(9).
• Erkenswick, G.A., Watsa, M., Gozalo, A.S., Dmytryk, N. and Parker, P.G., 2017. Temporal and demographic blood parasite dynamics in two free-ranging neotropical primates. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 6(2), pp.59-68