"What's Mightier Than a Millimeter-Long Copepod? A UVM Undergraduate Wielding Millions of Them" by Melissa Pespeni

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Please join the College of Arts and Sciences in hosting Melissa Pespeni, newly promoted Full Professor of Biology and recipient of the Scholar Teacher Award for Fall 2026, as she gives her Scholar Teacher Lecture, "What's Mightier Than a Millimeter-Long Copepod? A UVM Undergraduate Wielding Millions of Them."

What happens when undergraduate curiosity meets millions of tiny organisms? In my lab, UVM students have investigated questions ranging from how road salt and agricultural runoff affect aquatic organisms to how marine populations respond to warming oceans, acidification, and plastic pollution. Their research has generated discoveries published in leading scientific journals while providing new insights into resilience and adaptation in a changing environment. This talk will share both the science and the stories behind these projects, illustrating how undergraduate researchers contribute to advances that reach far beyond the classroom.

Melissa H. Pespeni is Professor of Biology at the University of Vermont, where she combines teaching, mentorship, and research to investigate how organisms adapt to environmental change. Her work spans systems ranging from marine copepods and sea urchins to sea stars confronting devastating disease outbreaks. By integrating genomic, physiological, and ecological approaches, her lab seeks to uncover the mechanisms that enable resilience in a rapidly changing world. Many of her publications have emerged from collaborations with undergraduate researchers, whose work has contributed to discoveries published in leading scientific journals.