Sean Beckmann

Like most students interested in the sciences I started out on a pre-health track. It wasn't until my undergraduate mentor introduced me to research that I discovered there were other options. I caught the research bug and changed my career.

I joined the faculty of Rockford University in 2011 as Assistant Professor of Biology. Prior to that I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Stetson University (DeLand, FL). In the following years I received training in a number of areas of biological research, as well as veterinary medicine, before beginning graduate school. I completed my Ph.D. in biology at the University of Miami with focuses in molecular ecology, evolutionary biology, and population genetics.

My primary responsibilities are teaching majors level biology course. I teach a number of courses ranging from General Biology to Cell Physiology, Invertebrate Zoology, Mammalogy, and Field Ecology. I also really enjoy teaching courses in Anatomy and Physiology.

The great part about my job is that I also get to conduct research with undergraduate students on a regular basis. I currently have 10 undergraduate research students working on a number of projects, and many of them have presented at conference in the last two years. It's my true passion to engage students in both the lab and the field and show them what career options they have while teaching them a valuable set of skills that they can use in any scientific career.

My primary research interests are in population and community ecology of small mammals, as well as disease ecology. My background is in population genetics and phylogeography. As a result I always try to bridge the gap between the lab and field, spending some time in both. That also allows me to use molecular approaches to answer a number of different ecological questions.

June 2015