Janey Bryce Haddock

We have all been asked what we want to be when we grow up. My answer was always the same: “I want to travel the world, become a detective, then spend the rest of my life as a biologist”. This ambitious and oddly specific answer was justifiably met a fair amount of skepticism. It was as realistic as saying I want to grow up to be a dragon, but to me, this was my life's mantra.

Determined to fulfill my childhood dreams, I enlisted in the US Army after graduating high school as a military police soldier with the ultimate goal of funding my future education. During that time, I became a US Army Criminal Investigative Division Special Agent and I earned my Bachelor of Science in Investigative Forensics with a Minor in Biology. I also was fortunate enough to live and work in many amazing places throughout the world, such as South Korea, Germany, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, and various states across the US. This job taught me the rigors of sterile procedure and research techniques, which molded me into better future scientist.

Undeterred from my ultimate goals, I eventually left the Army to pursue a higher education in the field of biology. I was accepted into a Post Baccalaureate research program in the department of mammalogy at the University of Kansas (KU). There I learned how conduct biological field work and how to write and publish my own scientific research. During my time at KU, I met my future mentor Dra. Maria de Lourdes Ruiz Gomez. She offered me a position in her lab as a graduate student and I eagerly accepted.

As of today, I conduct research on animal behavior in the Ecology and Behavior Laboratory in the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico located in Toluca, Mexico. I am extremely grateful to all those who have helped me along the way as I continue to chase my dreams.

April 2024