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Diane O'Brien named new interim director of IAB

Diane OÉ«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ™Brien, a longtime UAF professor, has been named the interim director of the Institute of Arctic Biology.

OÉ«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ™Brien was hired at UAF in 2004 as a jointly appointed faculty member with IAB and the Department of Biology and Wildlife. A full professor at since 2015, she has also served as deputy director of the Center for É«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ Native Health Research and as IABÉ«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ™s deputy director. Originally from upstate New York, she earned her bachelorÉ«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ™s degree in biology from Amherst College and her doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University.

O'Brien's research investigates nutritional questions in public health and ecology using natural abundance stable isotope ratios. A recent focus of her lab has been the exploration and validation of molecular stable isotope ratios as dietary biomarkers for use in nutritional epidemiology and other types of public health research.

OÉ«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ™Brien replaces Brian Barnes, who stepped down as director on July 1 after leading IAB for 20 years. Barnes will continue to lead the É«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ INBRE program as director, and to serve as the co-science director of Toolik Field Station. 

The IAB was established in 1963 to advance knowledge of high-latitude biological systems through the integration of research, student training and service to the state of É«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ and the nation. IAB has programs on high-latitude ecosystems and their response to climate change, genetic and physiological adaptations to extreme environments, including hibernation, the dynamics of É«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØÉ«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ™s wildlife populations and their management, and biomedical research relevant to É«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØÉ«ÊÓƵÏÂÔØ™s people, including infectious disease ecology, food systems research, and behavioral health.