ROLLAND LAB - Wildlife Ecology
Bluebird Trail
Lab
VIRGINIE ROLLAND, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Academic Background
2003 - BS in Population Biology
Universite Claude Bernard Lyon I, France
2004 - MS (1st year) in Population Biology
University of Leicester, UK (Erasmus)
2005 - MS (2nd year) in Ecology Evolution Biometry
Universite Claude Bernard Lyon I, France
Inter-individual heterogeneity in life history strategies; semi-domestic norwegian white sheep as a case study
Directed by Dr. Jean-Michel Gaillard
2008 - PhD in Population Ecology
Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Parie 6, France
Relative influence of industrial fisheries and climate change on albatross populations of the Southern Ocean
Directed by Drs. Henri Weimerskirch & Christophe Barbraud at the Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chize.
Professional Experience
2008/2009 - Research Associate
Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chize, France
2009/2010 - Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dept. Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Effect of hunting effort on the population dynamics of northern bobwhite
Directed by Dr. Madan Oli
2011/2017 - Assistant Professor
2017/2022 - Associate Professor
2022/Present - Full Professor
Dept. Biological Sciences
Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR, USA.
Personal facts
I am French , specifically from Lyon and received all my education in France (as shown above).
I married Dr. Jonathan Merten, associate professor in analytical chemistry at A-State, and together, we taught a little salsa dancing when there was demand. But I now teach MixxedFit, a dance fitness class, on campus and at the Earl Bell community center (Jonesboro, AR), for free to benefit the community.
My message to PhD students and postdocs:
I grew up in a big city and my projects were based on long-term data. So, I got little exposure to fieldwork until A-State gave me an opportunity to develop my own field-based research program. Now , I hold a bluebird banding permit.
Also, being a PhD student at an isolated research field station, my teaching experience remained very limited until my position at A-State where I have been improving my teaching skills semester after semester.
Conclusion: Even if you don't meet all requirements of the ideal candidate, you still have a chance. Persistence will pay off!