Brynleigh Payne, College of Sciences and Mathematics Faculty and Staff

Short Bio

I am a PhD Student in Dr. Tonia Schwartz's lab where we study functional and ecological genomics. Through my role as a graduate research assistant I have been working on the NSF funded "Damage-Fitness" project, in collaboration with my advisor and Dr. Haruka Wada, to understand how acute heat stress effects male and female zebra finches differently at the molecular level. I will also be working on our lab's previously NIH funded "Aging Anole" project to develop the brown anole lizard as a model system to study sex-biased aging. 

In addition to research, I have had the experience of being a graduate teaching assistant for the recombinant DNA lab and principles of biology lab (including honors sections). I attended the Auburn Summer STEM Institute (AUSSI) workshop during Summer 2025 to improve my ability to teach STEM courses through incorporation of active learning pedagogy.