Dr. Billie J. Swalla
Life Sciences Bldg, 5E, Room 551, 4000 15th Ave NESeattle , WA 98195-1800
(206) 616-9367
bjswalla@u.washington.edu
Professor Billie J. Swalla was the first female Director of UW Friday Harbor Laboratories from 2012-2019. She is a Professor of Biology at the University of Washington and an expert in Marine Genomics. Professor Swalla began her career at the University of Iowa, working on cartilage and muscle differentiation and limb patterning in chicken embryos with Professor Michael Solursh. A summer taking Embryology at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA changed her life and she moved to Postdoctoral studies with Professor William R. Jeffery at the University of Texas at Austin and Bodega Marine Lab at the University of California at Davis.
The Swalla lab is interested in the evolution and development of invertebrate genomics and body plans, so we study marine invertebrates that frequently have different larval and adult body plans. We are interested in the evolution of chordates and proposed a new hypothesis for a worm-like deuterostome ancestor in 2000, highlighting the importance of studying hemichordate and tunicate development and evolution. We want to understand how developmental gene networks work and evolve to create new body plans, so we study gene expression during development and regeneration.
My passion is increasing participation and leadership of women, BIPOC and LGBTQ in science. I was a founding member of the UW SACNAS chapter and am currently the University of Washington Faculty sponsor. I am an active and engaged participant in supporting students. My trainees become excellent scientists and communicators, in both writing and speaking. We discuss research and also the barriers that women and underrepresented groups may face and how to overcome these hurdles to be successful. All of my students have gone on to successful careers of their choice after graduation.
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