About Dr. Alisa Hove
she/her/hers
Hi, I’m Alisa.
I have been a biology professor at Warren Wilson College (WWC) since 2012. I'm a biologist because I'm continually fascinated and inspired by the complexity of nature. I started college at the University of California, Davis intending to pursue a career in medicine. Imagine my dismay when I realized that I hated working in hospitals and emergency rooms! Instead, I became interested in plant-pollinator interactions through travels in Central America and courses in botany and evolution. I grew up in a family of avocado farmers and understood the importance of pollinators for crops from an early age. Yet I hadn’t considered a career in botany until working as an undergraduate researcher in Maureen Stanton’s lab. After completing a BS in Biology at UC Davis, I went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Biology from Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) and a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara working with Susan Mazer.
At Warren Wilson College, my students and I have conducted research in ecology, genetics, ecophysiology, and sustainable agriculture. We use a variety of field, laboratory, and statistical methods to ask broad questions relating to conservation biology, population genetics, and evolutionary ecology. Warren Wilson College is one of 10 federally recognized liberal arts Work Colleges in the United States. Student research in the lab is supported by our college’s Work Program. At Warren Wilson, I also teach a variety of courses, including Genetics, Plant Ecology, and General Biology.
