Heather Stewart

Due to my broad interests, my life (academic and otherwise) has followed a winding path. I started at Michigan State University studying Zoology and interested in animal behavior and neurobiology but studying abroad in the Galapagos Islands inspired me to concentrate in Marine Biology. During my undergraduate studies I worked as a wildlife educator for Michigan United Conservation Clubs and as a student manager at the University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic. Following graduation I moved to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois and began working as a technician for the Department of Animal Biology and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. I also worked as a technician for the Illinois Natural History Survey at Kaskaskia Biological Station. After gaining real world experiences I returned to school to earn my master’s degree at Mississippi State University. My research focused on stress physiology in fish (thermal, salinity, handling, etc) and comparative transcriptomics. Before coming to Oregon to begin my work on salmonids I worked as a research assistant with Memphis Zoo conducting research on reproductive physiology of amphibians.