Directory
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Stephany Virrueta Herrera, PhD
Title/s: Lecturer
Specialty Area: Ecology
Office #: BVM 406
Phone: (773) 508-8661
Email:
About
I lived in Urbana for the duration of my PhD, but I am a first generation Chicana born and raised in Southside Chicago. My research is focused on the evolutionary histories and origins of avian louse diversity in the neotropics and beyond. I have also studied the evolutionary relationships of lice and their fresh and saltwater seal and sea lion hosts, some of which are endangered. I greatly enjoy collaborating with other researchers and have had the pleasure of working with several collogues outside the U.S.
Beyond phylogenomics I am also very passionate about science education and accessibility, and that is what has brought me back to teaching full time. In my free time I enjoy traveling and exploring nature with my daughter and dog.
Degrees
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PhD in ecology, evolution, and conservation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2023)
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BS in Biology with an ecology emphasis, Loyola University Chicago (2017)
Research Interests
- Phylogenomics
- Parasitology
- Evolutionary history and population genomics of lice on birds and mammals
- Science education
- Conservation
Professional & Community Affiliations
- SACNAS - Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science
- SSE – Society for the Study of Evolution
Courses Taught
ENVS 286 and 286S: Principals of Ecology Lab
Selected Publications
Stephany Virrueta Herrera , Andrew D. Sweet , Julie M. Allen , Kimberly K. O. Walden , Jason D. Weckstein and Kevin P. Johnson. 2020. Extensive in situ radiation of feather lice on tinamous. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.3005
Stephany Virrueta Herrera, Kevin P. Johnson, Andrew D. Sweet, Eeva Ylinen, Mervi Kunnasranta, Tommi Nyman. 2022. High levels of inbreeding with spatial and host-associated structure in lice of an endangered freshwater seal
Molecular Ecology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.16569
Samantha L. R. Capel , Brian F. Allan , Alonso Favela , C. Scott Clem , Sean Khan Ooi , Stephany Virrueta Herrera , Loralee J. Wilson and Lynette R. Strickland. 2023. Education in the Anthropocene: assessing planetary health science standards in the USA. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0975