Assistant Professor of Biology
Mary Kate O'Donnell graduated with a B.S. in biology and English from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa. She gained her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida in Tampa, where her dissertation research focused on the biomechanics of clinging and climbing behaviors in Plethodontid salamanders. She recently completed a postdoc at Brown University working on mouse and frog muscle physiology.
Biomechanics is the study of animals and plants from an engineering point of view and often focuses on answering questions about how organisms perform certain challenging behaviors. O'Donnell's research broadly encompasses the biomechanics of feeding and locomotion with an emphasis on amphibians and reptiles.