Education

  • PhD in Zoology with a minor in Molecular and Environmental Toxicology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • MS in Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina
  • BS in Biology, Iowa State University

Courses Taught

  • BIOL 111: Zoology
  • BIOL 152: Aquatic Biology
  • BIOL 247: Biometrics
  • BIOL 365: Ecotoxicology
  • BIOL 372: Ecology

Research Interests

Dr. Cary investigates how environmental contaminants affect aquatic species. Specifically, she performs whole animal studies with tadpoles and frogs to investigate how contaminant exposure influences growth, development and immune function at different life stages. In biology education research, her interests include investigating how students learn overarching concepts in biology, and how students develop a sense of identity and belonging to the scientific community.

Tawnya L. Cary

Assistant Professor of Biology
Co-Chair of Environmental Studies

 Pronouns: She/her/hers  Email: caryt@beloit.edu  Phone: 608-363-2371  Office: Room 337, Sanger Center for the Sciences

Tawnya Cary is an integrative biologist who studies aquatic ecotoxicology, the study of morphological, physiological, and population-level effects of environmental contaminants on aquatic species. Specifically, Dr. Cary’s research investigates how environmentally-relevant levels of pollutants (e.g., PCBs, PBDEs, nitrates) affect the immune function in frogs. In addition, her academic interests include investigating how students learn biology and develop a sense of identity and belonging to the scientific community.

Outside of the classroom and laboratory, she enjoys being in the outdoors. You can often find her hiking, camping, canoeing, or tending her garden as she chases after her energetic daughter.

Dr. Cary is also the director of the Wisconsin Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (WiscLSAMP) program at Beloit College. This program supports under-represented students in STEM by building a community of peers on campus that guide student exploration of natural science, engineering, computer science, and mathematics majors at Beloit College. The program provides academic and professional programming to help students attain an undergraduate degree in a STEM major.

This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Read our Web Privacy Policy for more information.

Got it! ×