Biography:Michelle Tseng

From HandWiki


Michelle Tseng is a scientist from Canada, and currently works as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany and Zoology.[1] Tseng teaches several upper level biology courses at the University of British Columbia, with a focus on ecology.[2] The Tseng lab conducts research on the evolution and ecology of insects and plankton.[3]

Education

In 2000, Tseng received her Master's of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Toronto.[4] Michelle Tseng received her Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2005. She then went on to complete her postdoctoral fellowship in 2008 at the University of British Columbia, where she runs her own lab today.[5]

Research

Plankton

Michelle Tseng is an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia.[5] Tseng focuses her research on the effects of global warming on insects. The main focus of the Tseng lab is testing both biotic and abiotic variables that affect evolution, and rate of evolution, in communities of insects and plankton.[1] Specifically, the Tseng lab studies responses of communities to global warming, evolutionary effects of climate change, effect of global warming on aquatic food webs, and the effect of global warming on body size.[2] The Tseng lab uses insect and freshwater communities in laboratory and field settings to test these questions.[1] Michelle Tseng has published over 20 research papers covering a range of these topics.[6] The Tseng lab is located in the Biodiversity Research Center at the University of British Columbia.[3]

Social equality work

In 2020, Michelle Tseng published a commentary article about the low levels of racial diversity in the biological fields of Evolution and Ecology.[7] This article also addresses how people of color can approach the obstacles to entering these fields of study. After experiencing the difficulty of being one of the few, if not the only, person of color in academic and professional gatherings, she wanted to encourage young students to pursue careers and studies in the field of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.[8] The commentary piece also addresses the importance of mental health and self care, especially for people of color in the field of ecology.[7] "Strategies and support for Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in ecology and evolutionary Biology" was reported on in several media outlets, including UBC Science and Researchnews. [8]

Selected publications

El-Sabaawi, R., M.B. Kantar, T. Moore, J.H. Pantel, M. Tseng, J. Ware. 2020. The EEB POC Project. Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin 29(3) 97-99

Tseng, M., RW. El-Sabaawi, M.B. Kantar, J.H. Pantel, D.S. Srivastava, J.L. Ware. 2020. Strategies and support for Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in ecology and evolutionary biology. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4(10)1288-1290.

Tseng, M. E. Yangel*, and A. Zhou*. 2019. Herbivory alters thermal responses of algae. Journal of Plankton Research. Accepted.

Tseng, M, J.R. Bernhardt, and A.E. Chila*. 2019. Species interactions mediate thermal evolution. Evolutionary Applications. DOI: 10.1111/eva.12805

Tseng, M. and S. Soleimani Pari*. 2019. Body size explains interspecific variation in latitude-size relationships in geographically widespread beetle species.  Ecological Entomology.  DOI: 10.1111/een.12684

Tseng, M., K. M. Kaur*, S. Soleimani Pari*, K. Sarai, D. Chan, C.H. Yao, P. Porto, A. Toor, H.S. Toor, and K. Fograscher. 2018. Decreases in beetle body size linked to climate change and warming temperatures. Journal of Animal Ecology.  DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12789 *co-second author, (all co-authors were UBC undergrads from Biol411).

Tseng M. 2017. The effect of parasitism and interpopulation hybridization on Aedes albopictus fitness. Journal of Medical Entomology. 54(5):1236-1242

Tseng M., and M. I. O’Connor. 2015. Predators modify the evolutionary response of prey to temperature change. Biology Letters. 11: 20150798

References