BenU Faculty since 2015
B.S. Biology, Davidson College (2007)
Ph.D. Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington (2013)
Postdoctoral Researcher and Adjunct Professor, Davidson College (2014)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Loyola University Chicago (2014-15)

Courses Taught
BIOL 1197: Principles of Organismal Biology, BIOL 4363: Ecology, BIOL 4364: Ecology Lab, BIOL4303: Conservation Biology & Biodiversity, BIOL 2205: Environmental Science

Research Areas:
Physiological ecology; herpetology; wildlife conservation and outreach.

Current Research Projects
My central research questions revolve around how abiotic factors influence the physiology, behavior, and habitat preferences of ectothermic vertebrates (particularly reptiles and amphibians), with applications to their conservation and management. I collaborate with various colleagues around the country to study the effects of land-use and climate change on, and the ecological role of, amphibians and reptiles – in both natural and urban ecosystems. Current research projects and outreach events at Benedictine University can be found by visiting my website: http://leighanneharden.com.

Leigh Anne Harden, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
[email protected]

Research areas:
Physiological ecology; herpetology; wildlife conservation and outreach.

Current Research Projects

The Harden Lab conducts integrative ecological research on reptiles and amphibians (herps). Our lab’s central research questions revolve around of how these organisms function and interact with their increasingly modified environment, by studying them on a physiological, behavioral, and spatial/temporal level. We use field-intensive (e.g. aquatic surveys) and laboratory-based (e.g. ELISAs, microscopy) approaches to investigate how abiotic factors influence the physiology, behavior, and habitat preferences of herps, with applications to their conservation and management.

Summer research projects may involve intensive outdoor fieldwork 5 days/week of trapping turtles in local wetlands to investigate their species diversity, population structure and demography. Fieldwork may be done in hot, muggy, and buggy conditions. Students will have the ability to develop their own side projects of interest within this larger project (e.g. physiological, immunological, behavioral hypotheses). Attention to detail is critical for high quality science, and curiosity and an ability to troubleshoot will contribute positively towards our shared work experience!