Estate Gift Supports UW Zoology and Physiology Graduate Students
Featured in the UW news: A generous gift from the estate of the late Charles “Chuck” McKinley, a University of Wyoming alumnus, boosts support to graduate students in the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology.
Li Li featured on UW News
Li Li, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology, is co-first author of a study published in Neuron, one of the world’s leading neuroscience journals. The paper, titled “Developmental reprogramming in melanocortin neurons modulates diet-induced obesity in mice,” was published Feb. 16. The study’s findings suggest that susceptibility to obesity may partly originate during early brain development, long before dietary habits or lifestyle factors come into play.
Scott Seville receives award for contributions to nih idea program
Department of Zoology and Physiology Professor Scott Seville, a former senior associate dean of the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, received the prestigious 2026 W. Fred Taylor Ph.D. Award for outstanding contributions to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) IDeA Program.
This annual award is given by the EPSCoR/IDeA Coalition and Foundation boards. It
is intended to recognize an individual who has contributed significantly to enhancing
the impact of the NIH Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program either regionally
or nationally. The program aims to expand opportunities for students, faculty and
institutions in states and territories that have had historically low levels of NIH
funding for biomedical research.
Corey Tarwater Quoted on science.org
Corey Tarwater, a faculty member in Zoology & Physiology, has been quoted for her research on the decline of birds in Panama. Read more below!
dillon lab featured on uw news
The Dillon lab was featured in the UW news: "UW Researchers Measure How Much Bumble Bees Can Cool Body Temperature Through Wing Movement".
Michael Dillon, a professor and the L. Floyd Clark Chair in the University of Wyoming Department of Zoology and Physiology, and Jordan Glass, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department, headed a lab study that actually measured this phenomenon.
SEan Giery Named UW President's Distinguished Scholar
Sean Giery, an incoming associate research professor in the University of Wyoming’s Department of Zoology and Physiology, has been named a President’s Distinguished Scholar in recognition of his outstanding research achievements and growing national and international impact in ecology and evolutionary biology.
Bethann Merkle publishes "Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences"
Congrats to Bethann Merkle, a Professor of Practice in the Zoology & Physiology department, for the publishing of the co-written book, "Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences: An Evidence-Based Approach". The book was co-wrote with Stephen Heard, an honorary research professor at the University of New Brunswick. The book was published by University of Chicago Press Dec. 31.
Welcome new faculty - zimova & giery
The Zoology & Physiology department is thrilled to welcome two new faculty members to our department this January. Welcome Marketa Zimova, and Sean Giery! We are excited to be a part of your research and teaching journey!
featured in uw this week: isaac Ligocki's review paper
Isaac Ligocki, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology, is the lead author of a review paper titled “Uncovering the role of chemical pollutants in shaping biological invasions.” The review was published Oct. 22 in Proceedings of The Royal Society B, the Royal Society’s flagship biological research journal.
In the context of the review, Ligocki and his collaborators define pollution as any synthetic compound released into the environment, such as fertilizer or pesticide runoff, microplastic waste and pharmaceutical waste. Pollution also includes naturally occurring compounds that are mobilized because of human activity, such as heavy metals or road salts.
williamson receives NSF Grant to study mountain hummingbirds
Jessie Williamson, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology, received a four-year research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), in the amount of $1.066 million, for her project titled “Genomic and eco-physiological mechanisms of hypoxia resistance in mountain hummingbirds.”
Williamson will serve as the grant’s sole principal investigator and lead a research team that will study the high-elevation resident northern giant hummingbird (Patagona peruviana) and the elevational migrant southern giant hummingbird (P. gigas), of which some populations shift seasonally from sea level to over 13,400 feet in elevation -- much higher than Medicine Bow Peak.
