Christina Watkins
She/Her
I am queer and I am an evolutionary biologist and bug loving scientist.//
Being raised surrounded by Floridas diverse ecosystems during a peak period for science representation in media (shoutout David Attenborough) led to a long held appreciation of STEM and a longing for understanding the natural world. Though I started out my undergrad pre-med, thinking to keep natural sciences a hobby, I realized later that the bugs… they just wouldn't stop speaking to me. So, I completed my M.S. at UCF investigating convergent evolution in parasitoid wasps.
Soon I came to understand that insects are incredible systems for investigating questions surrounding evolution. As such, I am currently using my Ph.D. program to investigate a few of these using the bagworm moth system, integrating genomic, morphological, and natural history data to investigate their sexual dimorphism.
Being a visibly queer scientist/ community member is incredibly important to me. I carry this philosophy into my outreach on social media, my role as UF Entomology grad student president, and elsewhere, working to carry queer joy with me into as many spaces and periods of life as possible.
Bluesky @christinalwat