Directory

Stephany Virrueta Herrera, PhD

About

I lived in Urbana for the duration of my PhD, but I am a first generation Chicana born and raised in Southside Chicago. My research is focused on the evolutionary histories and origins of avian louse diversity in the neotropics and beyond. I have also studied the evolutionary relationships of lice and their fresh and saltwater seal and sea lion hosts, some of which are endangered. I greatly enjoy collaborating with other researchers and have had the pleasure of working with several collogues outside the U.S. 

Beyond phylogenomics I am also very passionate about science education and accessibility, and that is what has brought me back to teaching full time. In my free time I enjoy traveling and exploring nature with my daughter and dog.   

Degrees

• PhD in ecology, evolution, and conservation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2023)

• BS in Biology with an ecology emphasis, Loyola University Chicago (2017) 

Research Interests

• Phylogenomics
• Parasitology
• Evolutionary history and population genomics of lice on birds and mammals
• Science education  
• Conservation  

Professional & Community Affiliations

• SACNAS - Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science 
• SSE – Society for the Study of Evolution  

Courses Taught

ENVS 286 and 286S: Principals of Ecology Lab 

Selected Publications

Stephany Virrueta Herrera , Andrew D. Sweet , Julie M. Allen , Kimberly K. O. Walden , Jason D. Weckstein and Kevin P. Johnson. 2020. Extensive in situ radiation of feather lice on tinamous. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.3005

Stephany Virrueta Herrera, Kevin P. Johnson, Andrew D. Sweet, Eeva Ylinen, Mervi Kunnasranta, Tommi Nyman. 2022. High levels of inbreeding with spatial and host-associated structure in lice of an endangered freshwater seal
Molecular Ecology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.16569  

Samantha L. R. Capel , Brian F. Allan , Alonso Favela , C. Scott Clem , Sean Khan Ooi , Stephany Virrueta Herrera , Loralee J. Wilson  and Lynette R. Strickland. 2023. Education in the Anthropocene: assessing planetary health science standards in the USA. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0975