Background

Biography

Jalyn comes from rural Ohio and attended university in Columbus, OH at Ohio Dominican University. She was always a child of nature, digging in the dirt on family hikes and collecting insects and rocks. She found a new way to be outdoors in middle school when she signed up for cross country. This outlet to the outdoors took her through college and many adventures on foot. Her love for Biology was born in high school during a Zoology course taught by Mr. Joe Carter (shout out!), where she fell in love with planarians and the nervous system. Upon attending university, she was advised by Dr. Blake Mathys, who inspired her with his love for the environment and birds. She quickly became a bird nerd and pursued a graduate career to study birds. She got lucky and stumbled upon Dr. Jamie Cornelius and is happy to be in Oregon, loving the great outdoors. Her love for running has grown to new events, such as ultramarathons, mountain biking, skiing, and rock climbing all over the beautiful state. Through graduate school, she has found a passion for teaching, where she expanded this to her love for athletics. She teaches yoga locally and is hoping to get certified to teach mountain biking to youth!

Research

Advised by Jamie Cornelius

Teaching

Teaching has been one of the highlights of my time in graduate school. The desire to inquire about the world around us is a beautiful part of the human experience and it’s a privilege to be able to build up the next generation of scientists. I am passionate about undergraduate learning and meeting students where they are at. My goal to to make science accessible and fun, no matter who I am talking to! I hope to continue to learn and teach from many angles for the rest of my career [and life]!

Courses Taught

• Z 372 - Vertebrate Biology Lab
• BI 241, BI 242, BI 243 - Human Anatomy and Physiology (series)
• BI 221, BI 222, BI 223 - Principles of Biology (series)

Research areas