Jessica Bolker

Jessica Bolker
PROFESSOR
Biological Sciences
Phone: (603) 862-0071
Office: Biological Sciences, Rudman Hall Rm 216, Durham, NH 03824
Website: Full profile: FindScholars@UNH
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Jessica Bolker

Philosophy of science, particularly epistemological questions around the use of models, and other topics connected to evolutionary developmental biology. Areas of particular interest include model choice, criteria, and implications; homology; modularity; and the role of fiction in the teaching and practice of science.

Faculty Award Winner

Award Type:  College Excellence in Teaching
Year:  2009

Education

  • Ph.D., Zoology, University of California - Berkeley
  • B.S., Biology, Yale University

Courses Taught

  • BIOL 714/814: Model Organism Research
  • BIOL 901: Intro Graduate Seminar
  • BIOL 902: Scientific Writing
  • BIOL 950: Scientific Communication
  • GEN 799H: Honors Senior Thesis
  • GRAD 932: Grad Outreach Communication
  • INCO 790: Adv Rsrch Exp/Biological Sci
  • MEFB 410: Marine Immersion
  • ZOOL 529: Developmental Biology
  • ZOOL 600: Field Experience
  • ZOOL 690: Evolution
  • ZOOL 795W: Spc Inv/Developmental Biology

Selected Publications

Bolker, J. A. (2017). Animal Models in Translational Research: Rosetta Stone or Stumbling Block?. BioEssays, 39(12), 1700089. doi:10.1002/bies.201700089

O'Malley, M. A., Travisano, M., Velicer, G. J., & Bolker, J. A. (2015). How Do Microbial Populations and Communities Function as Model Systems?. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 90(3), 269-293. doi:10.1086/682588

Bolker, J., & Brauckmann, S. (2015). From experimental zoology to big data: Observation and integration in the study of animal development. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, 323(5), 277-291. doi:10.1002/jez.1924

Bolker, J. A. (2014). Model species in evo-devo: a philosophical perspective. Evolution & Development, 16(1), 49-56. doi:10.1111/ede.12056

Bolker, J. (2012). There's more to life than rats and flies. Nature, 491(7422), 31-33. doi:10.1038/491031a

Meredith, D. C., & Bolker, J. A. (2012). Rounding off the cow: Challenges and successes in an interdisciplinary physics course for life science students. American Journal of Physics, 80(10), 913-922. doi:10.1119/1.4733357

Bolker, J. A. (2009). Exemplary and Surrogate Models: Two Modes of Representation in Biology. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 52(4), 485-499. doi:10.1353/pbm.0.0125

Martinez, G. M., & Bolker, J. A. (2003). Embryonic and larval staging of summer flounder (paralichthys dentatus). Journal of Morphology, 255(2), 162-176. doi:10.1002/jmor.10053

Bolker, J. A. (1995). Model systems in developmental biology. BioEssays, 17(5), 451-455. doi:10.1002/bies.950170513

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