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Louise C. Allen

Position: Visiting Assistant Professor/Special Assistant Department: Biological Sciences

Contact Info

Office: 217 W.B. Atkinson Phone: 336-750-3475

Biography

Dr. Louise Allen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology with concentrations in Zoo and Aquarium Science and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at Michigan State University (MSU) in 2000. While at MSU she founded the student environmental group, Eco, and was a member of the honors program. She then accepted a position as a senior keeper of birds at the Detroit Zoological Institute. She then went on to complete her Masters in Biology and Ph.D. in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution at Boston University in the lab of Thomas Kunz. Following her graduate studies she completed her Post-Doctoral work as a research associate at Wake Forest University.

Dr. Allen is now presently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences and a Special Assistant in the Office of Science Initiatives at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). In the community, she is committed to encouraging sustainable practices that promote environmental and human wellness. She serves as an environmental leader in Winston-Salem as board member for the Piedmont Environmental Alliance and as a founding member of Winston-Salem Greenways. She values her role as an educator and incorporates issues of sustainability and wellness into her courses, including Life on Two Wheels (a cycling based freshman seminar course on human and environmental health). She is an enthusiastic amateur cyclist and an unabashed bunny hugger.

Educational Background

  • BS in Zoology, Michigan State University
  • MA in Biology, Boston University
  • PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Boston University

Research and Project Interests

  • My research encompasses many aspects of ecological physiology in vertebrates, including birds and bats. My primary interest is the study of organisms and their physiological response to changing environmental conditions natural or anthropogenic. In a current project I examine the physiological responses of organisms to human-altered environments and identify the physiological consequences of environmental change.