New faculty member to continue a long tradition of aquatic research at KBS

The legacy of critical research in aquatic ecology is well-poised to continue for years to come at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station.

The KBS community is excited to welcome Dr. Alisha A. Shah to Michigan State University and to southwest Michigan. Shah has joined MSU as an assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and resident faculty member at KBS.

“It’s tremendously exciting to have Dr. Shah join our KBS community to contribute her expertise to our growing team of scholars at KBS and MSU addressing the biological impacts of climate change and their ramifications for society,” said KBS Director Fredric Janzen.  

“In particular, her focus on freshwater ecology helps bolster the long-term reputation of KBS for excellence in aquatic research as it relates to natural and managed systems.”

Alisha A. Shah

Shah comes to KBS from the University of Montana, where she was a postdoctoral research associate with the Woods Lab in UM’s Division of Biological Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. in zoology from Colorado State University.

Her research focuses on the thermal physiology of organisms, or how temperature impacts animals’ adaptations to their environments. More specifically, Shah studies how temperature affects the physiological characteristics of aquatic insects and, more recently, frogs.

“With my research,” Shah said, “I hope to not only learn more about why animals live where they live, but also how they will respond to changing global temperatures.”

From camping to conservation

Alisha Shah’s journey in science has sent her on travels around the globe, but it began at a summer camp near her hometown of Mumbai, India.

“I grew up in the bustling and beautiful city of Mumbai,” said Shah. “We didn’t have a lot of open natural spaces there, but each summer I went to a kids summer camp in a more remote area away from our city.

“There, I learned how to cherish our wild spaces and how incredibly biodiverse India is.”

Her summer camp experiences also introduced the concept of conservation, which grew into a central interest of hers. When Shah was 16, her family immigrated to the United States, and she went on to study biology at the University of Texas at Austin.

There, she said, “I became involved with an animal behavior lab and learned how to conduct my own research project as well as publish a manuscript.”

In the years after earning her bachelor’s degree, Shah was able to travel to multiple new countries as a field assistant. “I was fortunate to meet scientists along the way who mentored me and encouraged me to pursue research as a graduate student and professional,” she said.

Diving in at KBS

Now that she’s at KBS, Shah looks forward to learning more about the dragonfly and frog species found at the Station and designing studies around some of them.

“Science and academic research give me challenges, exercise my creativity, and allow me to work with fantastic people,” she said.

“KBS has some unique research facilities like the Pond Lab, in which I look forward to setting up large-scale experiments.”

Join us in welcoming Dr. Shah to KBS!