Michelle Lawing

Michelle Lawing is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University and a visiting fellow at the University of Pisa, Italy. Her research focuses on biodiversity responses to climate change, integrating conservation biology, ecology, evolution, and paleontology. She holds a B.S. (University of Texas at Arlington), M.S. (same institution), and a Ph.D. (Indiana University) in Biology with a dual focus on Evolution/Geological Sciences.

Her expertise includes global change biology, paleobiology, and functional ecology, emphasizing interdisciplinary methods like ecological niche modeling, geometric morphometrics, and phylogenetic analysis. Recent work explores how species and communities adapt morphologically and geographically to environmental shifts, including studies of African megafauna and Miocene reptiles.

• Education:
  • B.S. Biology, University of Texas at Arlington
  • M.S. Biology, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Ph.D. Double Major (Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior; Paleobiology), Indiana University

Her research highlights include developing ecometric models to estimate paleoenvironments and predicting conservation outcomes under climate change. She collaborates globally and mentors students in applying quantitative methods to ecological and evolutionary questions.

Key contributions span trait-based paleoenvironmental reconstructions, reptile and mammal morphology, and interdisciplinary data integration. Her lab (lawinglab.org) fosters STEM outreach through field stations and informal education initiatives.