I am a passionate educator, especially for STEM education, and I am an easily excited researcher who loves collaboration! My research interests lie in mechanisms mediating physiological and behavioral responses of birds and fish to human disturbance, urban development, and related activities. My research focuses on how hormonal and physiological mechanisms (testosterone, glucocorticoids, plumage coloration), in concert with environmental factors facilitate or mediate flexible behavioral strategies, and how these factors influence survival and reproductive success.
Dr. Lauren Gillespie
Dr. G's YouTube Channel!
​
Follow me on Instagram!
@the_bluebirdgirl
.jpg)
Research Projects
Eastern Bluebirds
Mangrove Killifish in Taiwan
Bee MycHotels
Albinism in Swallows
What's New
Central Community College-Columbus'
National Science Foundation-funded Scholarship Program: Growing Pathways to STEM
“This program grants GPS scholars access to experiences, specifically in scientific research, unheard of in other community college settings and often difficult to come by at large universities,” said Dr. Lauren Gillespie, co-principal investigator of Project GPS and a CCC-Columbus biology instructor. “Interested students will have the chance to do independent research related to biology, ecology, and engineering; they can also work collaboratively on larger projects, present their research at international conferences, and publish the results of our research.”
​
The first group of GPS Scholars will be selected from new and returning CCC students who apply by March 1 through ccc.awardspring.com, CCC’s scholarship application portal. Applicants must provide two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a STEM-area instructor. Returning CCC students must ensure that a STEM instructor on their campus gives their name to principal investigators Heinisch or Gillespie.
_JPG.jpg)
.jpeg)
August 04, 2017
A $648,844 National Science Foundation S-STEM grant will fund the five year 'Project Growing Pathways to Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering' (STEM; Project GPS). This will provide rural, low-income students mentorship through networking, team-building, and practical career experience utilizing unique, collaborative college-industry partnerships. Preparing science and engineering students for entrance into a globally-competitive STEM workforce or successful completion of a STEM bachelor’s degree program contributes to a generation of scientifically literate citizens while addressing area employment needs. Support services address financial and academic support barriers specific to low-income student success. Project GPS provides a unique, interventionist model investigating outcomes of relationships between mentors, cohorts, students, and industry. This transformative model applied to community college education is possible through Central Community College’s college-industry-community partnerships. These relationships bridge established gaps to low-income student success, and production of those receiving and valuing quality higher education in the rural mid-west is imperative at a time when scientific literacy is critical to global and public health.
Project GPS will prepare students with critical thinking skills and both academic and career guidance through cohort experiences provided by faculty mentors and industry. An Immersive Service Learning Experience (ISLE) will commence with an intensive orientation experience and include a summer component with student participation in independent or collaborative research, a cooperative education program, or industry internship or job shadow experiences, dependent upon cohort composition, local business/industry needs, and logistics. All projects will incorporate global sustainability concepts on a local scale, with intended measurable benefits in and beyond the local community.
December 18, 2017
Bluebird research provides unique experience for students
