Rachel Carson College Faculty Fellows
Sikina Jinnah is Rachel Carson College's new faculty chair!
The Chair of the Faculty is an Academic Senate member, other than the Provost, who is elected by the college Faculty to serve a two year term, and will serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
Dr. Jinnah is an Associate Professor in the Politics Department, an affiliated faculty member in the Environmental Studies Department, and a 2017 Andrew Carnegie Fellow. Her research focuses on the shifting locations of power and influence in global environmental governance, and in particular the role of transnational actors in environmental decision-making. Her most recent projects examine how key norms in global climate politics shape power relations, the role of U.S. preferential trade agreements in shaping environmental policy in trading partner nations, and the politics of climate engineering governance.
- Pronouns she, her, her, hers, herself
- Title
- Professor, Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Division Physical & Biological Sciences Division
- Department
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department
- Institute of Marine Sciences
- Affiliations Environmental Studies Department
- Phone 831-459-1490
- Fax 831-459-3383
- Website
- Office Location
- Long Marine Lab Ocean Health Building, Coastal Biology Building 265
- Long Marine Lab 153
- Office Hours By Appointment
- Mail Stop CBB/EE Biology
- Mailing Address
- 130 McAllister Way
- Santa Cruz CA 95060
Summary of Expertise
Comparative physiology
Functional morphology
Behavioral ecology, Animal Behavior, Ethology
Research Interests
My research seeks to understand morphological, physiological, and behavioral evolution. I have a special interest in studying the mechanisms guiding diversification in vertebrate clades whose members have evolved an elongate and limb-reduced (or complete loss) body plan such as snakes, anguilliform fishes, and other eel-like vertebrates. I am also interested in the evolution of morphological and behavioral innovations in organismal design.
Biography, Education and Training
I obtained my Bachelors degree from U.C. Berkeley and a Ph.D from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I was a postdoctoral researcher at U.C. Davis from 2006-2009.
Honors, Awards and Grants
UCSC Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity 2015
"The Carl Gans Award," in recognition of Carl Gans' scientific career and editorial contributions to animal morphology, biomechanics, and functional biology. This is an annual award presented by the Chair of the Division of Comparative Biomechanics of the Society for the Study of Integrative and Comparative Biology.
Teaching Interests
Animal Physiology
Comparative Physiology & Functional Morphology
Biomechanics
