Michelle Whaley

Michelle Whaley is a Teaching Professor in Biology at the University of Notre Dame's Department of Biological Sciences, where she has held faculty positions since 1993, progressing from Assistant Teaching Professor (1993–2000) and Associate Teaching Professor (2001–2011) to her current role. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and a B.S. from Scripps College. Throughout her career, Whaley has taken on significant leadership roles, including Assistant Department Chair (2014–2019), Honors Program Coordinator (2011–2016), Director of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program (1999–present), Faculty Coordinator for Undergraduate Research and Alumni Mentor programs, Mastery Program Faculty Coordinator for the Molecules to Ecosystems Introductory Biology course (2022–present), Faculty Coordinator for the Graduate Student Teaching Apprenticeship Program (2004–present), Co-Chair of the Committee to Reimagine Introductory Biology (2016–2018), and Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Educational Initiatives (2013). As principal investigator of the NSF-REU program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, she trained 279 undergraduates, with continuous funding for 16 years and an emphasis on underrepresented groups.

Whaley's research, conducted in collaboration with Joseph O’Tousa, centers on characterizing visual genes in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and their effects on behavior, building on prior work with the Drosophila visual system; her doctoral research identified a gene whose mutation causes adult retinal degeneration. Key publications include Hu et al., 'Patterned expression of two rhodopsins in the R7 photoreceptors of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae' (Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2009); Hu et al., 'Coexpression of spectrally distinct rhodopsins in Aedes aegypti R7 photoreceptors' (PLoS ONE, 2011); Hu et al., 'Light-mediated control of rhodopsin movement in mosquito photoreceptors' (Journal of Neuroscience, 2012); Rocha et al., 'Expression and Light-Triggered Movement of Rhodopsin in the Larval Visual System of Mosquitoes' (Journal of Experimental Biology, 2015); Metoxen et al., 'Light-driven Processes Control Both Rhodopsin Maturation and Recycling in Mosquito Photoreceptors' (Journal of Neuroscience, 2016). She teaches research-intensive courses such as Classical and Molecular Genetics Laboratory and Cell Research, fostering critical thinking and leadership. Her excellence in undergraduate education has earned her the 2014 Indiana Professor of the Year (Carnegie Foundation and CASE), 2025 Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award, 2009 Joyce Award, three Kaneb Teaching Awards (1998, 2002, 2006), and the 2012 Arthur J. Quigley Award from the Robinson Community Learning Center.

Professional Email: whaley.3@nd.edu