Evon Hekkala

Evon Hekkala is a Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences at Fordham University, leading the Hekkala Lab. Her research focuses on conservation genetics, paleogenomics, and integrating indigenous knowledge into biodiversity studies. She specializes in crocodilian evolution, museum collections analysis, and ecological conservation.

Her work includes NSF-funded projects such as the STS grant examining ancestral taxonomies and the RAPID grant to recover fossils in Madagascar. She collaborates with institutions like the American Museum of Natural History and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Notable achievements include discovering cryptic crocodile species and developing methods using leech-derived DNA for biodiversity surveys.

She advises numerous graduate and undergraduate students, mentoring them in fieldwork, lab techniques, and interdisciplinary research. Her lab emphasizes DEI initiatives and ethical science practices.