معرفی
Dr. Nicole Valenzuela is a Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on evolutionary and ecological genomics, particularly investigating how ecology influences genome structure and the evolution of complex phenotypes, such as sexual development in vertebrates. She uses turtles as a primary study system, leveraging eco-genomics, phylogenomics, and epigenetics to explore sex determination mechanisms and their responses to environmental changes.
Education: B.S. Biology (Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia, 1991), M.A. Applied Ecology (SUNY Stony Brook, 1995), Ph.D. Evolutionary Ecology (SUNY Stony Brook, 1999).
Research Interests: Sex determination evolution, chromosomal evolution, thermal plasticity, and conservation biology. Her lab develops genomic resources for turtles and collaborates on projects like the Tree of Sex consortium, investigating sex determination across eukaryotes.
Key Projects: NSF-funded work on turtle genome assemblies, organoid development for functional genomics, and studies on dosage compensation mechanisms in turtles. The Iowa Turtle Army program engages undergraduates and K-12 teachers in field and lab research, emphasizing discovery-based learning.
Grants and Funding: Supported by NSF grants (e.g., IOS-2127995, MCB-1244355) for projects on sex chromosome evolution, climate change impacts, and genomic resources.
