Heather Ray

Heather Ray is an Associate Professor at Idaho State University, specializing in Developmental Biology. Her research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying embryonic development, particularly neural crest and neural ectoderm formation during neurulation.

• PhD in Cell Biology (2016), University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
• MS in Biology (2010), University of Texas at San Antonio
• BS in Biology (2006), Oregon State University

Her work bridges fundamental developmental biology with clinical implications of birth defects, utilizing frog embryos and Xenopus laevis models. Publications highlight roles of Wnt signaling, Grainyhead-like proteins, and RhoGEF pathways in developmental processes.

Teaching includes BIOL 1101 Introductory Biology and BIOL 3324 Developmental Biology. She has offices in Life Sciences 204 & 305, and her research spans topics from gastrulation to neural tube closure.