Jenny Ouyang

How do some individuals in the same population raise ten offspring while others only have one? How do some individuals survive cold winters and breed again while others do not live past their first winter?

Our lab is interested in the ecology and evolution of physiological systems. To answer the questions above, we empirically test, in natural and laboratory populations, how, and at what rate, physiologically-regulated traits can evolve and enable organismal adaptation to changing environmental conditions.

Read our LAB MISSION

NEWS (read the archives)

Mentoring award

May 2025/2026

Jenny receives the College of Science Zaliapin Mentor Award and the Regents' Academic Advisor Award (graduate).

New graduate students

August 2024

Katie Smith (PhD EECB) and Ava Ciaccia (MS CMB) join the lab. Both received the Dean's Merit Fellowship and Katie the NSF GRFP honorable mention and Ava the NSF GRFP award.

Jenny receives Fulbright

September 2023

Jenny received the US Fulbright scholars award. She is currently in Bogota, Colombia collaborating with Dr. Maria Echeverry at the Universidad Pontificia Javeriana.

Light pollution in the news

August 2023

Jenny recently wrote an article reviewing a book about light pollution for American Scientist. Here's an article about Nevada communities curbing light pollution.

NSF CAREER grant

August 2022

Jenny was awarded a NSF CAREER grant to study artificial light and night and urbanization. Very excited to continue work on urban ecology, genes, and phenotype. Especially excited about the education plan.

Ouyang Lab

University of Nevada, Reno

NEWS (read the archives)