Mal Ballinger
Assistant Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Academic focus:
Evolutionary biology
Current research project:
Broadly, I’m interested in understanding the genetic basis of adaptation and how changes in DNA ultimately allow organisms to survive in challenging environments. One extraordinary example of adaptation is hibernation. Hibernating animals can dramatically reduce their metabolism, body temperature and heart rate, essentially putting many of the body’s normal functions on hold for days or even weeks at a time. How they enter, regulate and survive these extreme physiological states remains one of the great mysteries of biology. My research investigates the genetic and physiological mechanisms that make torpor and hibernation possible, as well as how these remarkable adaptations evolved across mammals.
Previous positions:
Provost Faculty Fellow, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, 2024-2026
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Biology, Utah State University, 2022-2024
Academic background:
Ph.D., Integrative biology, University of California, Berkeley, 2021
M.Sc., Integrated biosciences, University of Minnesota, 2015
B.Sc., Biology, Black Hills State University, 2013
Last book read:
“The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson.
In your own time/when not working:
You can usually find me walking or hiking around Ithaca with our Siberian husky and Boston terrier, watching sports (especially the WNBA), or looking up recipes as I try to figure out what to do with the fruit from our four pawpaw trees.
Courses you’re most looking forward to teaching:
I teach The Vertebrates: Form, Function, and Evolution every spring, and I’m looking forward to teaching Mammalogy in the near future.
What most excites you about Cornell:
The people! Cornell is an incredible place to be a biologist. I’m surrounded by world-class geneticists, physiologists and ecologists, but it’s also an amazing place to grow as an academic. I’ve especially enjoyed meeting people from across campus through programs like Making Time to Write, which Cornell offers to faculty.
X handle/blog url:
