Marcella Baiz

Marcella Baiz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University at Buffalo (College of Arts and Sciences). Her research focuses on evolutionary processes underlying speciation, particularly using hybrid zones and young species radiations. She examines mechanisms of reproductive isolation, host-microbiome coevolution, and adaptive traits in avian and primate systems.

Education: B.S. in Biology from Grand Valley State University, M.S. & Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan, and postdoctoral research at Penn State University. She leads the Baiz Lab, which integrates genomic techniques and field studies to address evolutionary questions.

Research interests include speciation genetics, hybridization dynamics, microbiome-host interactions, and ornithology. Recent work explores how symbiotic communities respond to host divergence and how genomic regions underlie speciation traits like plumage patterns.

Her lab’s publications analyze genomic signatures of divergence in warblers and howler monkeys, linking genetic variation to ecological adaptation. She advocates for inclusive scientific terminology and ethical frameworks in evolutionary biology.