Allison Louthan

2020-present: Assistant Professor in the Division of Biology at Kansas State University

2016-2019: Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Biology at Duke University

2013-2016:   Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Studies at University of Colorado-Boulder

2009-2013:  Ph.D. candidate in Zoology and Physiology at University of Wyoming (transferred)

2008:  B.A. from Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA

My research interests are focused on how best to predict shifts in species’ geographic distributions with climate change. I am particularly interested in the role of species interactions in setting species’ current and future distributions. I love spending time outside, and enjoy hiking, running, and other types of playing outside.

I always loved science and math since I was a young person. I particularly enjoyed math and biology classes in high school, and was interested in pursuing biochemistry at my undergraduate institution. When I learned more about ecology, including that one could hike around for their job while asking scientific questions, I decided to pursue ecology. I was lucky to be involved in two separate research experiences as an undergraduate, in both field ecology as well as evolutionary ecology, which catalyzed my desire for a career in research. I worked for a year in an evolutionary ecology lab in California before I began graduate school . My work in graduate school focuses on using both field measurements and mathematical models to understand what factors control species’ geographic distributions. Most of my field work has been based in East Africa, with some work in the Rocky Mountains. I will graduate next year and move onto a post-doctoral position that looks more carefully at the role of climate in setting species’ distributions.