Alison M. Bell

Alison M. Bell is Professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, Director of the Kellner Center for Neurogenomics, Behavior and Society and the Leader of the Gene Networks in Neural and Developmental Plasticity theme at the Carl Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

Work in the Bell lab aims to understand why individuals consistently behave differently from one another over time and across situations, using three-spine stickleback fish (mostly) as a model organism. Current work in the lab is using neurogenomic tools to understand evolutionary divergence in parental care at the molecular, genetic and neural levels. Other work in the lab focuses on the role of behavior in facilitating rapid adaptation to new environments.

Bell earned a Bachelor’s degree in History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science and Medicine at the University of Chicago, a PhD in Population Biology at the University of California, Davis.