Suzanne Austin, Ph.D

I'm interested in how organisms have adapted to their environment. I take a very integrated approach to my research to elucidate how and why these adaptations occur. Sometimes this means I study species or individual variation and sometimes this means my research questions center around the physiological or transcriptomic-level. This approach allows me to ask not just 'why' but 'how' animals have and continue to adapt to their environment.
I earned my doctorate in Wildlife Science at Oregon State University (W. Douglas Robinson's lab) where I studied life-history evolution in temperate and tropical birds, with an emphasis on development and parental care. I continued my research on avian life-histories as a postdoctoral fellow in Robert Ricklefs’s group at the University of Missouri–St Louis where I studied co-variation of physiological and life-history traits in birds. I also conducted a postdoc at UC Davis (Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior) where I investigated the hormonal and transcriptomic responses of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis to stressors and parental care in pigeons. I have multiple ongoing projects that center around the the theme of how organisms have adapted to and interact with their environment.
I have a keen interest in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in ecology. Most of my work in this area has focused on individuals and providing them opportunities to receive mentorship and training. However, I've also co-authored a paper about increasing accessible of conferences to parents and am an advocate for women, underrepresented groups, and invisible disabilities in STEM.
Contact information:
bythells @oregonstate.edu
I earned my doctorate in Wildlife Science at Oregon State University (W. Douglas Robinson's lab) where I studied life-history evolution in temperate and tropical birds, with an emphasis on development and parental care. I continued my research on avian life-histories as a postdoctoral fellow in Robert Ricklefs’s group at the University of Missouri–St Louis where I studied co-variation of physiological and life-history traits in birds. I also conducted a postdoc at UC Davis (Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior) where I investigated the hormonal and transcriptomic responses of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis to stressors and parental care in pigeons. I have multiple ongoing projects that center around the the theme of how organisms have adapted to and interact with their environment.
I have a keen interest in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in ecology. Most of my work in this area has focused on individuals and providing them opportunities to receive mentorship and training. However, I've also co-authored a paper about increasing accessible of conferences to parents and am an advocate for women, underrepresented groups, and invisible disabilities in STEM.
Contact information:
bythells @oregonstate.edu