Dr. Susan Finkbeiner

Dr. Susan Finkbeiner is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago, and will begin a visiting assistant professor position at Pepperdine University in the fall. She holds a B.Sc. in entomology from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of California, Irvine. Her current research involves a comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms that are responsible for animal diversification and speciation, while using RNA sequencing and other technological advances for her research. Her previous research has focused on how natural and sexual selection work together to favor the evolution of animal appearance and its relation to behavior, and how visual systems co-evolve with visual signals. She specifically uses tropical butterflies as her study animal and spent several years carrying out her research projects in the jungles of Central and South America.