An EconoTimes perspective

Katie Marshall

Associate professor, Zoology, University of British Columbia

The long-term goal of my research is to understand how abiotic stress filters through physiology to shape species abundance and distribution. While abiotic stressors such as temperature have been used very successfully to predict population growth, distribution, and diversity of insect species, integration of the mechanisms of how these stressors are experienced by individuals from alteration of physiology through to fitness impacts has lagged. Inclusion of these mechanisms is crucial for accurate modelling predictions of individual (and therefore population-level) responses. My research to date has focused on how the impact of frequency of stress (rather than the duration or intensity of stress) is a superior predictor of both survival and reproductive success , and used insect cold tolerance as a model system. BSc(Hons) Acadia 2007 PhD Western University 2013 Killam Postdoctoral Fellow (UBC) 2013-2015 NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow 2016 Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma 2016-2018 Assistant Professor, UBC 2018-2023 Associate Professor, UBC 2023 - present