Jenny Ouyang

Jenny Ouyang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she also serves as Director of the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology graduate program. She earned her B.S. and B.A. from the University of California, Irvine (2007), followed by M.A. and Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University (2009, 2012). Her research focuses on the ecology and evolution of physiological systems, particularly how hormonally regulated traits enable organismal adaptation to environmental changes like urbanization, light pollution, and endocrine stress responses.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University (2012)
  • M.A., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University (2009)
  • B.S., Biology, University of California, Irvine (2007)
  • B.A., French, University of California, Irvine (2007)

Her work integrates neuroendocrine mechanisms with ecological contexts to understand phenotypic flexibility and epigenetic adaptation in birds. Recent projects examine how artificial light at night disrupts circadian rhythms, hormonal profiles, and parental behaviors across urban-rural gradients. She has secured major grants including the NSF CAREER award (2022) for studying urbanization and NIH COBRE funding (2017) as part of a neuroscience team. Key collaborations include Dr. Maria Echeverry at Universidad Pontificia Javeriana in Colombia through her 2023 Fulbright award.

The Ouyang Lab combines natural and laboratory experiments to investigate stress physiology, with recent papers analyzing glucocorticoid responses to urbanization, gene expression patterns under light pollution, and epigenetic reorganization in response to environmental stressors. Her publications span top journals like Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Biology Letters, and Ecology Applications, where her 2022 paper on lead pollution and reproduction was highlighted by ESA and Swedish Radio.

Scientific Awards & Recognition:

• US Fulbright Scholars Award (2023)
• NSF CAREER grant (2022)
• NIH COBRE grant (2017) as team member
• Advising students like Valentina Alaasam (NSF GRFP awardee) and Ivan Celso Carvalho Provinciato (Dean's Merit Fellowship)