Faculty Profile: Dr. Liz Kierepka

Dr. Liz Kierepka is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University and a Research Biologist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Her research focuses on the effects of environmental heterogeneity on wildlife genomic variation and has worked on numerous vertebrate species across the globe. Dr. Kierepka received her MS in Conservation Biology from Central Michigan University and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her postdoctoral work included evaluating management of invasive species, landscape genetics in fragmented landscapes, evolutionary genomics in gray fox, and mark-recapture of mountain gorillas in Uganda.

1. What do you study?

My work broadly quantifies how environmental variation impacts wild populations. I use genomic tools to study wildlife, which gives powerful insight into processes like natural selection, movement, and population size across time and space. I have investigated a variety of questions in wildlife, from the evolutionary effects of historical Ice Ages on wide-ranging carnivores to how habitat loss and fragmentation disrupt connectivity and evaluation management of invasive species. Most of my work has a conservation or management focus because humans are a major source of environmental change and have numerous impacts on wild populations.

2. How did you get in your field?

I always loved animals and wanted to pursue a career where I could apply that passion. I pursued vet science and zookeeping but also volunteered in an animal behavior laboratory during my undergraduate. I got interested in how humans influenced animal populations in my undergraduate work and ended up in a Master’s that used genetics to examine many wildlife species. My graduate career grew to combine my interests with human impacts on wildlife, genetics, and statistics, which I went on to expand in my academic pursuits.

3. What is most exciting about your research, and/or what do you hope to achieve with your research?

Genomics is a rapidly growing field with numerous utilities for conservation and management, which can be used across many different species. I am excited to use new technologies to investigate questions that were once thought impossible, to understand how animals adapt to novel environments and help mitigate the negative impacts of environmental change.

4. What led to you becoming a professor at NC State?

I was hired for a dual appointment at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and NC State. I was drawn to this position because I love being involved with the public as well as academics, and the interdisciplinary groups in both institutions provide numerous exciting collaborative opportunities in conservation and management.

5. What was your favorite course you taught?

I have not taught at NC State yet, but I am very excited to start soon! I was involved in a landscape genetics course back in my postdoc where I designed realistic scenarios for students to analyze in the lab. Hands-on experience in genomic analysis is really informative for students, and all loved the ability to evaluate data in class. This class encouraged interactions between instructors and students and provided greater understanding when reading current papers within the field.

6. What advice would you give students interested in your field of study?

Get research experience early in your undergraduate degree. My experience within a lab was instrumental in helping me navigate applying to graduate school, building collaborative relationships, and fine-tuning my interests in science. Also, be ready to get some computer skills, the complexity of genomic data requires computer programming and statistics.