Rate My Professor Alder Yu

Alder Yu is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he contributes extensively to undergraduate education and research in biological sciences. He earned an S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998 and a Ph.D. from Tufts University in 2011, followed by postdoctoral research at MIT and Tufts University School of Medicine. Yu teaches a broad spectrum of courses designed to build foundational knowledge and advanced skills, including BIO 105: Introductory Biology, BIO 306: Genetics, BIO 333: Radiation Biology, BIO 440: Bioinformatics, BIO 491: Capstone, and BIO 499: Undergraduate Research. These courses emphasize critical thinking, laboratory techniques, and independent research projects, accommodating student creativity and fostering hands-on learning experiences.

The core of Yu's research examines circadian rhythms and the health effects stemming from their disruption, using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. His work delves into how such disruptions affect metabolism and DNA damage repair, alongside time-of-day variations in gut microbiome composition and feeding behaviors. Yu also studies the impacts of X-ray and neutron radiation exposure on circadian rhythms. His peer-reviewed publications include co-authorship of "Comparative immunomodulatory effects of chronic exposure to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam on the respiratory burst response in zebrafish and fathead minnow larvae" in Fish and Shellfish Immunology (2025), and "New frontiers in student evaluations of teaching: university efforts to design and test a new instrument for student feedback" in Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (2023). Yu serves on the Ad-Hoc SEI committee, which explores and implements alternative student evaluation tools. He actively mentors undergraduate students, supporting their presentations on research topics such as gut microbiome-circadian rhythm interactions and radiation biology at university symposia.