Rate My Professor Travis Hagey

Travis Hagey is an Associate Professor of Biology in the Department of Sciences and Mathematics at Mississippi University for Women, a position he has held since 2018. He earned a B.Sc. in Cellular Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Western Washington University in 2007 and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Idaho in 2013. Before joining MUW, Hagey was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Idaho from 2013 to 2015 and a Science Communication Postdoctoral Fellow at the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action at Michigan State University from 2015 to 2018. His teaching responsibilities include Evolutionary Biology, Biomechanics, Zoology, Animal Behavior, and General Biology.

Hagey's research explores why animals are shaped the way they are, integrating bio-engineering and evolutionary biology to examine adaptations to environments, with emphasis on gecko and lizard toe pads, biomechanics, and ecological morphology. Key publications include 'Tempo and Mode of Performance Evolution Across Multiple Independent Origins of Adhesive Toe Pads in Lizards' (Evolution, 2017, with J.C. Uyeda, K.E. Crandell, J. Cheney, K. Autumn, and L.J. Harmon), 'There’s More Than One Way to Climb a Tree: Limb Length and Microhabitat Use in Lizards with Toe Pads' (PLoS ONE, 2017, with S. Harte, M. Vickers, L.J. Harmon, and L. Schwarzkopf), 'Geometric Morphometrics Reveal Shape Differences in the Toes of Urban Lizards' (Integrative Organismal Biology, 2022, with B. Howell and K.M. Winchell), and 'The Finer Points of Urban Adaptation: Intraspecific Variation in Lizard Claw Morphology' (Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020, with C. Falvey, K. Rodriguez, and K.M. Winchell). He has secured major funding, including a five-year National Science Foundation grant exceeding $1 million awarded in 2024 to support global fieldwork on gecko toepads in locations such as Morocco, Tanzania, and Papua New Guinea, along with equipment acquisitions and student training. Hagey has received the Mississippi University for Women Excellence in Research Award in 2023, the MUW Alumni Association New Faculty Award in 2019, and the National Society of Leadership and Success Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019. His work has garnered over 1,000 citations, contributing to advancements in understanding lizard adhesion and performance evolution.