Dr. Josephine Hubbard

Outreach

Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Josephine Hubbard has a strong passion for mentorship in teaching and research. She has mentored many undergraduate students in her own research and as a member of collaborative research projects at UC Davis. She has also participated in several programs to mentor prospective graduate students as a part of the Ecology & Evolution Graduate School Preview Program and the Envision Program at UC Davis. As a senior graduate student, she advised several incoming graduate students as a member of the Animal Behavior Graduate Group (ABGG) Advisory Committee. She has also organized opportunities for graduate students to hone their scientific presentation skills as lead organizer for the ABGG Biennial Regional Conference in 2022. She continues this commitment to training undergraduate students as a member of the Undergraduate Education (UGE) Committee at the California National Primate Research Center. In collaboration with staff research associate Sasha Montero-De La Torre, Hubbard developed a teaching module for the Training Biomedical Professionals of the Future program focused on the use of non-human primate models for translational research on mental health and the emergence of neurodevelopmental disorders in humans.

Dr. Hubbard is also committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She served two terms as the co-chair for the ABGG Diversity and Inclusion Committee where she spearheaded initiatives such as removing the GRE from the admissions requirements for the ABGG. She also co-authored a guide to apply to graduate school that has been posted on the website and is used by ABBG faculty to provide guidance for prospective graduate students. She continues this commitment to DEI as a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee at the California National Primate Research Center.

Finally, Dr. Hubbard believes in the importance of science communication and outreach to demystify the roles of scientists as a way to increase diversity and inclusion in STEMM. As a graduate student she held leadership positions as editor for a variety of columns in the ABGG official blog, the Ethogram including Creature feature, Newsroom, Fieldnotes, and Field fiascos. She has written articles outlining her own experience conducting fieldwork with whales, wild macaques, and urban birds. She has outlined some of the trials and tribulations of fieldwork through satirical field fiascos including an encounter with a pangolin, tick bombs while searching for salamanders, unusual field lunches, the importance of bag weighing when traveling, and the consequences of not paying attention to your study group. She has also written general pieces on unique wildlife species such as the african clawed frog, California golden trout, greater racket-tailed drongo, San Joaquin kit fox, tree kangaroos, tailless whip scorpions, and peacock spiders. Finally, she has highlighted her most recent publication studying humpback whales as well as science heroes such as Rachel carson.