Meet the father and daughter tracking heartbeats of the wild

Researcher Tim Laske was in Kenya's Amboseli National Park when he felt the weight of time collapse.

Flanked by a troop of baboons and Cape buffalo grazing in the distance, he quietly walked the ancient landscape with the footsteps of his daughter, Noelle, beside him.

"It could have been a million years ago, walking across the savannas in the middle of wildlife," said Tim Laske, vice president of research in the Cardiac Ablation Solutions Operating Unit at Medtronic. "It was surreal. To be able to do that together was amazing."

The father-daughter duo has traversed continents - from the icy climates of North America, to the dense forests of Thailand, to the plains of Africa - in pursuit of something quiet and profound: understanding. As scientists with Medtronic, they implant heart monitors in vulnerable species to study stress and survival, blending cutting-edge technology with a reverence for the natural world.

At home in the wild

Tim has long marveled at nature.

As a teenager, his family visited the rugged, remote island of Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, where he learned of the Wolf-Moose Project, a long-standing effort to better understand interactions between the two species. He later was hired as a field assistant on the project and it unlocked a lifetime of close encounters with animals around the globe in the pursuit of science.

"I loved wildlife and the outdoors, I loved engineering and medicine," Tim said. "And so it all worked out perfectly that I was able to combine the two."

Noelle inherited the same adoration for the wild.

When his daughter was a little girl, Tim deliberately taught her about the woods near their home. Noelle was "fearless," always bucking the trail to explore through the bushes, Tim said. He taught her how to use a compass, and together they named areas of the forest so that Noelle always had reference points.

"The more you learn about the plants and animals, the more the wilderness feels like a home," Tim said.

Noelle accompanied Tim on his research projects, curling up with cubs while her dad checked on the hibernating bears in northern Minnesota he monitored, or to Isle Royale, where Tim tracked wolves and moose. She joked she "could sit and watch a moose drink water for four hours" and be content.

"Growing up, I always thought he was the coolest person ever," said Noelle of her father. "He's always been my role model."

While Tim has two other daughters who are quick to hold bear cubs and wolf pups and love the outdoors, Noelle embraced the science of the research and over time evolved from an eager witness to her dad's work to an active contributor. She now works as an associate clinical specialist in the Cardiac Rhythm Management Operating Unit at Medtronic. The opportunity to work closely with her dad isn't lost on Noelle.

"These are experiences most father-daughter relationships don't get to have," Noelle said. "Traveling with him, learning so much, is really cool and it's something that's unique to us."

Not all glitz and glamour

Tim and Noelle's work around the world may seem glamorous to an outsider, but seeing an animal in the wild - and oftentimes, they don't - is the culmination of months of research and prep work, often grueling hikes, bugs, extreme temperatures and sometimes sleeping on floors and under tables in remote places.

Collaborations have included a partnership called The Rhythm of Life Project with the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute including the team's recent work on giant anteaters, where Noelle previously spent two summers studying the behavior and physiology of maned wolves as an intern.

"We're there as scientists to help," Tim said of his work around the globe.

It's part of our Mission to be good global citizens and provide good quality of life for both humans and animals on the planet, he said.

Tim publishes all learnings in scientific articles through his appointment as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota.

What's next

The father-daughter pair has worked together on numerous species including grizzly bears, American black bears, gray wolves, mountain lions, clouded leopards, Indian elephants, scimitar-horned oryx, maned wolves, and baboons.

The research program is made possible by Medtronic volunteers working behind the scenes and hundreds of donated devices. The conservation work is entirely extracurricular, done beyond the confines of their regular jobs. But it's worth it, said Noelle, whose favorite wild encounter involved an elephant wrapping its trunk around her waist.

"Anything we can do to help understand species and how they interact both in captivity, and also in the changing environments, is really the least we can do," she said. "And the fact that I enjoy every second of it really helps."

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