Ashley M. Blawas

I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Goldbogen Lab at Stanford University. My research focuses on the physiological traits that underpin metabolic function in baleen whales using engineering and molecular biology tools. I work across multiple scales of biological organization, from organism to organ system, tissue, and cell, to understand how animals sustain physiological function at the limits of organismal performance. I work on answering questions about drivers of oxygen/nutrient transport, limits to metabolic function in oxygen/nutrient-limited behavioral states and environments, and how adaptations to these challenges differ across organisms during acute versus chronic oxygen/nutrient stress.

I completed by Ph.D. in Marine Science in the Nowacek Lab at Duke University and obtained my B.S.E in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering.

In addition to research, I have focused on developing my teaching abilities as part of my training. I pursued a Certificate in College Teaching during which I took courses in pedagogy, course design, and college teaching. I have experience instructing course, creating and giving lectures, and leading lab exercises on topics within the field of physiology to a diverse array of students from specialized courses like Comparative Physiology of Marine Animals to general courses like Marine Megafauna. I have also enhanced my science communication skills and community engagment through outreach programs like Growing Equity in Science and Technology and Skype a Scientist.