Angela Roles

Angela Roles is an Associate Professor of Biology at Oberlin College in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is based in the Science Center A134 and can be reached at Angie.Roles@oberlin.edu or 440-775-8319.

Dr. Roles earned her BS in Biology from Wake Forest University in 2000 and her PhD in Zoology and EEBB from Michigan State University in 2007.

Her research focuses on evolutionary ecology, with specializations in population and quantitative genetics, spontaneous mutation, and molecular ecology. Current research projects include studies of genotype-environment interaction and somatic selection in Arabidopsis thaliana and the population genetics of invasion in crayfishes. Her lab employs both experimental and computational approaches to understand evolutionary processes, including participation in the multi-institutional unPAK project focused on undergraduate research with Arabidopsis thaliana mutants.

Dr. Roles has published research in journals including Evolution, Journal of Crustacean Biology, Canadian Journal of Zoology, and Zoologica Scripta. Her work spans topics from plant mutation studies to crayfish population genetics and hybridization, with publications from 2008 to 2017 demonstrating sustained research activity.

• Rapid recovery of nuclear and mitochondrial genes by genome skimming (2017)
• Field measurements of genotype by environment interaction for fitness (2016)
• Evidence for multiple paternity in crayfish (2014)
• Hybridization between invasive and native crayfish species (2012)

She is deeply committed to undergraduate education and research mentorship. Dr. Roles teaches courses including BIOL 200 (Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology), BIOL 322 (Genetics of Populations), and has previously taught numerous biology courses ranging from introductory to advanced levels. Her BIOL 322 course uses contract grading to provide students agency over their grade and focuses on computational modeling in evolutionary genetics.

Dr. Roles maintains an active research lab that regularly involves undergraduate students in meaningful research projects. Many of her past students have gone on to pursue graduate degrees and careers in science, with notable alumni including Ariel Kahrl (PhD in EEB from University of Virginia), Anthony Bonifonte (PhD in Data Analytics from Georgia Tech), and Erica Borg Kohler (DVM from Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine).