Joanna Larson

Research Interests

As Curator of the Museum of Biodiversity and Greene-Nieuwland Herbarium, I work to maintain and expand its scientifically significant collections of amphibians, fish, birds, mammals, insects, parasites, and fossils. Nearly as old as the University itself, the Museum has a long history as an important role in Notre Dame’s teaching, research, and service to the community.  I am continuing efforts to digitize specimens and publish our data on publicly-available aggregators to improve accessibility to the collections for research.

As an evolutionary biologist and herpetologist, my research focuses on the diversification, phenotypic evolution, and community ecology of amphibians and reptiles. I apply phylogenetic comparative methods to large morphological and ecological datasets that I collect to test between mechanisms structuring diversity across space, time, and clades.

My goal as an instructor is to create an inclusive and accessible learning environment in which all students can share in the wonders of the natural world. For my courses, I incorporate materials from the ND Biodiversity Museum into hands-on labs that challenge students to connect form with function and explore the diversity of morphologies, while recognizing shared evolutionary history. I also design and integrate experiential learning experiences in which students generate data for and participate in ongoing research projects.

Biography

• Assistant Professor of the Practice, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN 2023-present
• Curator, Museum of Biodiversity and Greene-Nieuwland Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN 2025-present
• Assistant Curator, Museum of Biodiversity and Greene-Nieuwland Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN 2023-2025
• Moreau Faculty Development Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, IN 2020-2023

Education

• Ph.D. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2020
• A.B. Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 2011

Primary Research Areas

Evolutionary Biology
Ecology and Environmental Biology

Research Specialties

Community and Evolutional Ecology
Macroevolution
Herpetology

Teaching Specialties

BIOS 30465 Herpetology
BIOS 30404 Vertebrate Biology
BIOS 31404 Vertebrate Biology Laboratory