Paradyse Blackwood, Ph.D.
Trained Disease Ecologist, passionate about conservation & scicomm
About Me
Past Appointments
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology PhD Candidate in the Searle lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Doctoral Fellow
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (NSF GRF)
Personal
I am Black, Queer, Nonbinary, and a First-Generation student. I grew up in upstate, New York surrounded by amazing wildlife. I received my bachelor's degree in Integrative Neuroscience from Binghamton University in 2018. While at Binghamton, I worked in Dr. Jessica Hua's lab and truly fell in love with ecology, research, and outreach work. When I'm not in lab, I enjoy rock climbing, reading, going for nature walks, and tending to my many houseplants.
Outreach/Social Justice/Mentoring
Representation and diversity in higher levels of this field is extremely important. It shows young people that no matter their current situation, they can be successful in the science community. I am committed to being able to make science, more specifically ecology, more available for underrepresented youth. I'll never forget when I saw a Black scientist and it changed my life. I felt like I could be successful in this field. I center outreach in all aspects of my work. I enjoy mentoring students, young people, and those interested in science.
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Organizations you should check out & support: