Professor Jennifer Sorensen Forbey is a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences within Boise State University's College of Arts and Sciences, where she has served since 2008. Her research bridges ecological and pharmacological disciplines through two major initiatives: the $6 million NSF-funded Genomes Underlying Toxin Tolerance (GUTT) project and the Pharm-Ecology program. Her research focuses on plant-herbivore interactions , specifically how animals process environmental toxins through three integrated approaches: 1) Monitoring molecular mechanisms of toxin tolerance using chemistry and genomics; 2) Quantifying physiological mechanisms through in vivo and in vitro methods; 3) Predicting demographic consequences of toxin exposure. This work has direct applications for wildlife conservation, livestock management, and drug discovery. The GUTT project represents a major collaborative effort involving researchers across Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming, with workforce development components for early-career scientists. Her Pharm-Ecology research leverages ecological insights to discover bioactive compounds for medical applications, including collaborations with international institutions in Iceland and Sweden. NSF-OIA-182680 (PI), $2.586M of $6M award (2018-22) NSF-OIA-1757324 (Co-PI), $5.27M of $20M award (2018-23) BLM/US Department of Interior awards totaling $58,715 (2017-21) NIH-INBRE mentoring funds ($764,000 to College of Idaho) Professor Forbey actively mentors students through Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) and IdahoWatch, a STEM service-learning program where graduate students train K-12 teachers in field research. Her lab maintains strong connections with wildlife management agencies and international research institutions, providing students with diverse professional development opportunities in both academic and applied settings.



