Rate My Professor Sean Schoville

Schoville's research program in molecular ecology investigates biological diversity in insects, the ecological and evolutionary processes that generate it, and strategies for management and conservation. Key themes include rapid evolutionary change, biogeography and local adaptation, biological responses to global change, species diversity, and insect physiology in alpine biology. He directs the Molecular Ecology Lab, applying genomic, ecological, physiological, and morphological approaches. His highly cited publications include 'Testing for associations between loci and environmental gradients using latent factor mixed models' (Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2013), 'Adaptive Genetic Variation on the Landscape: Methods and Cases' (Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 2012), and 'A model species for agricultural pest genomics: the genome of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata' (Scientific Reports, 2018). Schoville has earned the 2026 Distinguished Teaching Award at UW-Madison, the Undergraduate Research Scholars Exceptional Mentor Award (2023-2024), Award for Mentoring Undergraduates in Research (2023), and the Royal Entomological Society Best Paper Award (2020-2021). His contributions extend to editorial roles, committee service, and promoting equity and inclusion in science.