The Comparative Ecophysiology of Animals Lab (CEAL!) at Baylor University focuses on understanding how different animals work in the context of their environment. We use quantitative analytical techniques to examine physiological and ecological factors that shape mammalian life history strategies. Research in this lab falls into three themes:
Characterizing the relationship between animal form & function
Comparing fitness trade-offs between different life history strategies
Examining flexibility in ecological and physiological traits, especially in response to a changing environment
research
Animal FORM & FUNCTION
The relationship between animals and their environment has a profound effect on form and function. We investigate animal adaptations crucial to survival (like feeding!) from evolutionary, morphological, and ecological perspectives.
life history TRADE-OFFS
Animals have evolved diverse life history strategies that are adapted for maximizing fitness. We investigate trade-offs associated with these different strategies to understand the balance between physiological adaptations and ecological opportunity.
ecophysiological FLEXIBILITY
Animals that exhibit phenotypic flexibility are often better able to respond to environmental change. We examine flexibility in ecophysiological traits to understand and predict how animals (from individuals to species) will respond to habitat changes.
publications
Peer-reviewed publications. For articles without a link, please contact me for a copy.
Featured
resources
Below are some resources that we’ve found helpful in different aspects of our job. If you have others we should check out, please share with us!
Academic life
How to write professional emails in academia
https://medium.com/@lportwoodstacer/how-to-email-your-professor-without-being-annoying-af-cf64ae0e4087
Writing
The Elements of Style (book by Strunk & White)
How to Write A Lot (book by Paul Silvia)
Career Guidance
The Professor is In (Karen Kelsky)
Teaching
Engaging teaching
https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/instructors-corner-3-teaching-enthusiasm-engaging-students-sparking-curiosity
Inclusive teaching
https://citl.ucsc.edu/teaching-resources/inclusive-teaching/
https://diversity.arizona.edu/creating-inclusive-classrooms
Active learning
Small Teaching (James Lang)
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-08-28-how-to-engage-students-and-support-learning-in-large-classes?cid=nwsltrtn&source=ams&sourceId=4631916
https://cei.umn.edu/active-learning
Graduate students
Patrick Cunningham
Ariel Leahy
Emily Sperou
curriculum vitae
For a detailed account at my accomplishments and experience, please review my curriculum vitae.
outreach
Outreach and science communication is such a powerful way to engaging the general public in the very cool research that we do! It’s also a great way to make sure that we, as scientists, are able to speak clearly and effectively about the importance of our research.
Below are some organizations that I have partnered with over the years. I would encourage you to look into them as well!
Letters to a Pre-Scientist
Role: Pen pal
This organization’s motto is “Be a friend and an inspiration” and their goal is to humanize scientists for K-12 students and to inspire students to pursue a STEM career. What a worthy cause! The program starts in August each school year. You get partnered with a K-12 student in North America and exchange 4 letters at scheduled times throughout the year. Easy, rewarding, and fun!
CALIFORNIA OCEAN ALLIANCE
Role: Guest speaker
I gave a talk about my research to high school students as part of the California Ocean' Alliance’s Marine Mammal Scientist in Training (MMST) program. This organization is dedicated to conducting high-quality marine research, helping inform sound policy, and working with local communities. As part of this work, they run an annual summer camp for high school students to get hands on experience in marine mammal research.
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA
June 2018: The Mehta lab led an outreach activity at the Santa Cruz Boy’s and Girl’s Club. We set up three different stations so that students learned about different aspects of fish morphology and the relationship between animal structures and functions.
media
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Prospective Graduate Students
PhD students will have the opportunity to develop their own dissertation project that fits into the research scope of the lab. Through our lab, we offer experience and training in field and laboratory research, grant writing, statistical data analyses, and science communication. We value a team-based approach, where supervisors and lab members work effectively and collaboratively together on projects. We value diversity in our lab and welcome applicants from all backgrounds to join us. Our lab will provide a challenging but rewarding experience, and we are therefore seeking enthusiastic and capable students with strong interests in animal ecophysiology.
Students will be supported by internal and external fellowships. We encourage all prospective graduate students to apply for external funding, including the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholars Scholarship Program, Ford Foundation, Graduate Women in Science, and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Please reach out if you would like to collaborate on a project proposal.
You can find more details about the Department of Biology at Baylor here and about the PhD graduate program here. Baylor’s graduate program application deadline is in early January. If you are interested in applying, you MUST reach out to me well in advance.
To express your interest in this position, please email Sarah_Kienle@baylor.edu with the following:
A cover letter detailing your relevant qualifications and experience, research topics/ projects that you are interested in, and how you see yourself fitting into our lab (~1 page in length)
Your CV (for guidelines, see The Academic CV blog post on this website)
A few FAQ’s:
Do you accept master’s students? Unfortunately no, there is not a MS option available at Baylor.
When should I contact Dr. Kienle about my interest in the lab? Anytime during the summer to mid-fall (end of October) is good. If you reach out after October, she may have already made her decision about who to encourage to apply to the program.
What if I don’t hear back from Dr. Kienle right away? Give her a couple of weeks, and if there is still no response, send a polite follow up. She is continually shocked by how many emails she receives as a professor.
Postdoctoral Researchers
We welcome applications from postdoctoral scholars to join our lab. We encourage postdoctoral researchers to apply for external fellowships, including the NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology, Smith Conservation Research Fellowship, and/or the American Association of University Women.
If you are interested in collaborating on a research proposal, please contact me at Sarah_Kienle@baylor.edu.
Undergraduate Students
We are always interested in having motivated, enthusiastic, and talented undergraduate students join our lab as volunteers. If you are interested in joining the lab, you have two options:
Option 1: Please contact me at Sarah_Kienle@baylor.edu with the following information:
A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of your research background, research interests, and what you hope to gain from the experience
Your resume or CV (for guidelines, see The Academic CV blog post on this website)
Option 2: Reach out directly to one of the graduate students in the lab (see CEAL Team section on this website) to see if they are taking undergraduates. When reaching out, please include the following:
A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of your research background, research interests, and what you hope to gain from the experience
Your resume or CV (for guidelines, see The Academic CV blog post on this website)
Collaborations
I am always interested in new projects and opportunities! Please contact Sarah_Kienle@baylor.edu if you are interested in collaborating.
We respectfully acknowledge that Baylor University in Waco and its original campus in Independence are on the land and territories originally occupied by Indigenous peoples including the Waco and Tawakoni of the Wichita and Affiliate Tribes, the Tonkawa, the Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche), Karankawa, and Lipan Apache. These Indigenous peoples were dispossessed of and removed from their lands over centuries by European colonization and American expansionism. In recognition that these Native Nations are the original stewards of Baylor's campus locations, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.