W.I.S.E. Wednesday Spotlight: Dr. Robin Bagley, Population Geneticist and Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University's Lima Campus

Dr. Robin Bagley is a population geneticist and assistant professor at The Ohio State University’s Lima campus whose research explores how ecological interactions shape genetic variation in insects. Her interdisciplinary work combines genetics, behavior, and ecology to understand adaptation in natural systems. She reflects on the challenges that shaped her path, the rapid growth of genetic technologies, and the importance of curiosity, creativity, and collaboration in STEM.

Interview Transcript:

Question #1: Can you please introduce yourself and your professional background?

I’m Robin Bagley. I’m an assistant professor at the Lima campus of Ohio State, and I usually describe myself as a population geneticist who just happens to work with bugs. My background is pretty broad. I did my undergraduate degree in biology, then my master’s is actually in instruction and curriculum, which is a little atypical for a professor, and then I went back and got my PhD in biology.

During my PhD, I worked on these plant-feeding insects called sawflies. They look a lot like caterpillars, but they eat pine trees, and honestly, I just think they’re fascinating. The questions I was asking were things like: why do insects that eat different things look genetically different, and how does that happen? I originally thought I was going to run all these large experiments, tracking mating and feeding preferences, but that quickly became unrealistic for one person. So instead, I shifted toward using genetic tools. I still collected insects and studied their behaviors, but I paired that with genetic data to understand how they interact with their environment.

After my PhD, I moved to the University of Iowa, where I was recruited for my genetics background. That lab focused more on parasitic insects that lay their eggs inside other insects, and then the larvae eat them from the inside out. It’s as intense as it sounds, but really fascinating. That experience shaped what I do now. I still work with sawflies, but I focus more on the parasites such as asking questions like whether the host they parasitize influences their genetics, behavior, or life history. Those are the kinds of questions my students are working on now.

Question #2: For those who may not be familiar with evolutionary ecology, how would you describe the field? How would you describe your research?

Evolutionary ecology explores how organisms interact with their environment and how those interactions shape their evolution over time, often by linking behavior, ecology, and genetics. In my research, I use insects as model systems to ask questions such as why organisms that use different resources, or interact with different hosts, look genetically different and how those genetic differences arise. Early in my career, I was interested in experimentally testing insect preferences for food and mating, but I found that many of those questions could be more efficiently addressed using genetic tools alongside ecological observations. Today, my lab focuses largely on parasitic insects, particularly those that parasitize sawflies. We investigate questions like whether parasitizing different hosts influences an insect’s genetics, behavior, or life history traits. Students in my lab actively engage in studying host–parasite interactions, collecting and observing insects, and using genetic approaches to understand how ecological relationships shape evolutionary outcomes.

Question #3: What inspired you to pursue STEM?

I think my story is one you’ll hear from a lot of professors. Growing up, I was a strong student and was placed in honors classes. Learning came pretty easily to me, but because of that, I was also really bored. Everything started to feel repetitive. The first time I really struggled was in my high school biology class—I actually failed my first lab report. And I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, what do I do?’ But that class showed me how rewarding a real challenge could be. That stuck with me. At the time, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I’m the first in my family to go to college, so there wasn’t really a blueprint for me. I just knew I was going because my mom believed it would open doors. One day, my physics teacher had a flyer for a combined bachelor’s and master’s program to become a science teacher, and that really clicked. I loved the idea of continuing to learn challenging material while also helping other people understand it. That’s what pulled me into STEM and STEM education. Even though I now teach at the college level instead of K–12, that same passion for helping people understand things that are hard and interesting has stayed with me.

Question #4: What current or future advancements are you most excited about?

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen is how much sequencing technology has advanced. I started my PhD in 2011, and at that time, my advisor had worked with maybe five genes. That was considered a lot. I had around 10,000 genetic markers. Now, my students are working with hundreds of whole genomes. That’s an incredible shift across just three generations of scientists.

We’re no longer just looking at genes but we’re looking at everything around them and how they interact. And what’s really exciting is how this work sits at the intersection of multiple fields. We’re using biochemistry, advanced computing, and biology all together to understand these massive datasets.

Being able to combine that level of genetic detail with real-world observations, like how organisms behave or interact with their environment, gives us such a complete picture. That kind of holistic understanding just wasn’t possible before, and it’s honestly amazing to see how quickly things are progressing.

Question #5: Are there any scientific tools you believe students should learn before entering your field of study?

I hate to say this because I know it can feel intimidating, but learning how to program is becoming essential. That includes things like R, statistical programming, and even working in Unix or supercomputing environments.

A lot of cutting-edge research now involves big data, whether that’s DNA, RNA, environmental data, or medical datasets, and you need to be able to process and analyze that information. I don’t think undergraduate education has fully caught up to that yet. There isn’t always a required programming course for STEM students, but once you get to graduate school, it becomes unavoidable.

The good news is that once you learn one programming language, the others start to make more sense. They all share similar logic. The biggest shift is getting comfortable without a graphical interface; you have to get used to typing commands and letting go of relying on your mouse. Once you make that mental shift, everything becomes much easier to navigate.

Question #6: What is a common misconception people have about STEM, and why is it a misconception?

I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to be extremely smart or have a special way of thinking to succeed in STEM. I completely disagree with that. There are plenty of everyday things I struggle with such as reading clocks or making pancakes, and that doesn’t determine whether someone can succeed in science.

What really matters is creativity. In research, things don’t always go as planned. Your hypothesis might be wrong, but your data can still reveal something interesting. Being able to think creatively, ask new questions, and explore unexpected results is far more important than being able to solve problems quickly.

Science isn’t just for a certain type of ‘smart’ person but it’s for anyone who is curious and passionate. Everyone has different strengths, and those strengths all contribute to scientific discovery. As STEM fields become more diverse, we’re continuing to see that success comes from curiosity, persistence, and creativity and not just traditional definitions of intelligence.

Question #7: What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned in the world of STEM or in your field of study?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that everything is integrative. You really can’t work in isolation anymore. To move science forward, you need collaboration across disciplines. You might need a biologist, a chemist, a computer scientist, and someone working on modeling or simulations—all contributing to the same problem.

A lot of the most interesting discoveries happen when you step outside your own field and work with someone who thinks differently than you. Every time I come across something new and unexpected, it usually means I need to connect with someone in a completely different area.

That exchange of ideas is what really pushes science forward. It’s what allows us to better understand the natural world and share those discoveries in a meaningful way.