Alyssa Woronik, Ph.D.

Dr. Woronik completed her BS in Biology at Sacred Heart University. She then earned her Ph.D. in Population Genetics in the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University. She was a postdoctoral researcher in the Biology Department at New York University in the lab of David H.A. Fitch where she investigated the genes that drive a male specific morphogenic process.

Dr. Woronik’s research projects are connected by her interested in investigating the genetic and molecular mechanisms that give rise to phenotypic diversity. Specifically, she is interested in answering these questions in the context of ecology and evolution.

Currently she is investigating the evolution of gene regulatory networks controlling morphogenesis, or the development of form. To address this question, she is using a sex-specific morphogenic process that has evolved multiple times independently in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematode species. To answer her research questions, Dr. Woronik employs various types of nucleic acid sequencing and genetic techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.

Dr. Woronik is also the co-principal investigator of the Bee Health and Ecology Research Objective (Bee HERO). This project provides undergraduates the opportunity to conduct research on honeybee health at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden. Check out our Instagram.

On a personal note, Dr. Woronik loves horseback riding, hiking, yoga, and gardening. She is also particularly obsessed with her Corgi named Juniper.

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