Dr. Stacey Weiss, PhD, is the McCormick Chair of Natural Sciences and Professor of Biology at the University of Puget Sound. She received a bachelor’s degree in Biology with an emphasis in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from UCLA (1991) and a doctorate in Zoology from Duke University (1999). At Puget Sound, Stacey has received numerous teaching and mentoring awards recognizing her dedication to providing undergraduate students with authentic research experiences. Stacey and her students have explored a variety of questions concerning the behavioral and microbial ecology of Sceloporus lizards. One key research focus is the function and evolution of female-specific ornaments, which Stacey examines within the context of sexual selection theory. Additionally, Stacey and her team are fascinated by the role of the lizard microbiome in providing egg protection in the absence of parental care. They are also linking individual variation in the microbiome to host behavior and physiology, and are conducting comparative studies across temporal, spatial, transgenerational, and host genetic scales. Stacey’s main study subject is the striped plateau lizard (S. virgatus), which she has been studying in the Chiricahuas for over 25 years.