Popejoy Dissertation Prize Winner

Dr. Jocelyn Colella is an evolutionary biologist whose research uses mammals as models to understand how organisms change through time. After competing for Lobo Swim and Dive as an undergrad, Dr. Colella completed her PhD at the University of New Mexico in 2019 in Dr. Joseph Cook's lab, where her research focused on hybridization dynamics among high-latitude mammalian meso-carnivores. At UNM, Dr. Colella worked closely with the Museum of Southwestern Biology, the largest university-based mammal collection in the world, to conduct genetic analyses on wildlife across space and time to inform conservation and understand the evolutionary consequences of genetic mixing. Currently, Dr. Colella is finishing a postdoctoral research position at the University of New Hampshire, where she is researching the genetic basis of dehydration tolerance in desert-adapted rodents. This August, Dr. Colella looks forward to joining the faculty at the University of Kansas as Assistant Professor and Curator of Mammals.