Louise Bodt

Louise is a current PhD student in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History. Her research focuses on evolution, ornithology, and introduced species. She received a Master’s Degree in Biological Sciences from NYU in collaboration with Julia Zichello at the American Museum of Natural History working on introduced European starlings in North America. She also has a BA in Biochemistry from Smith College. 

Louise began her journey with science as a kid growing up in New York City, where she took classes starting at the age of 15 at AMNH and discovered her passion for research and education. She went on to intern at AMNH through high school and college and was hired as an educator in 2013. She has taught K-12 programs across the museum ever since, from summer camps to research courses. Louise taught elementary, middle and high school science at two New York City private schools. She also worked at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, DNA Learning Center where she taught laboratory-based science courses and managed the Urban Barcode Project, a program working with New York City high school students and teachers to teach them molecular biological lab techniques and provide professional development.