Adriana Darielle Mejía Briscoe

Adriana D. Briscoe is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. Briscoe is known for studies of how color vision mediates ecological interactions between butterflies, host plants, and the environment, in the context of mimicry and species recognition.

Briscoe's lab uses butterflies as model systems for examining how natural selection shapes the amino acid sequence of proteins and leads to changes in physiology and behavior, specifically in the context of color vision and wing coloration. As a committed natural historian and environmentalist, Briscoe is leading the sequencing of local butterfly genomes for conservation purposes.

In addition, Briscoe has written and spoken about the importance of teachers in developing future scientists and the need for increased funding for Black, Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) teacher training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in order to create a more just and diverse scientific workforce.

Briscoe received a BA in Philosophy, a BS in Biological Sciences, and an MA in Philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in Biology from Harvard University.