Summary
Jessica is a teaching professor with a strong commitment to community-engaged science education. She earned her Ph.D. in biology from the University of Nevada, Reno, where she conducted her dissertation research in the Feldman Lab. Her doctoral work focused on adaptive evolution and the coevolutionary dynamics between toxic newts and resistant garter snakes in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
As a first generation college student, her path in biological research began at the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked as a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. This formative experience sparked a passion for engaging others in understanding the natural world—a passion that has shaped her career. She has conducted fieldwork in diverse environments ranging from the tropical forests of French Polynesia to the deserts of Arizona.
Jessica has taught at several institutions, including Holy Names University and UC Berkeley, where she contributed to undergraduate biology education through innovative, inclusive, and experiential teaching methods. Back at UNR she continues to design educational experiences that integrate scientific knowledge with a strong sense of inclusivity and social responsibility. Her teaching philosophy centers on a service learning model, guiding students to engage in community-based projects that connect biology to pressing societal issues. By emphasizing collaboration and real-world application, she strives to empower students as both scientists and active community members.
Courses taught
- BIOL 100A: Principles and Applications of Biology
- BIOL 191A: Introduction to Organismal Biology
- BIOL 192: Principles of Biological Investigation
- BIOL 415: Evolution
Education
- University of Nevada Reno, PhD, Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, 2020
- University of California Berkeley, BS, Molecular Environmental Biology (Music Minor), 2014
Selected publications
- del Carlo, R. E., Reimche, J.S., Moniz, H.A, Hague, M.T.J., Agarwal, S. R., Brodie E.D. Jr., Brodie, E.D. III, LeBlanc, N., & C.R. Feldman (2024) Coevolution with toxic prey produces functional trade-offs in sodium channels of predatory snakes. eLife 13:RP94633
- Reimche, J.S. et al. (2022). The road not taken: Evolution of tetrodotoxin resistance in the Sierra garter snake (Thamnophis couchii) by a path less traveled. Molecular Ecology 31(14): 3827-3843
- Reimche, J.S., et al. (2020). The geographic mosaic in parallel: Matching patterns of newt tetrodotoxin levels and snake resistance in multiple predator-prey pairs. Journal of Animal Ecology, 00:1-13.
Professional certifications
- Community Engaged Teaching Program, University of Nevada, Reno, 2024
- Teaching with Technology Certificate Program, University of Nevada, Reno, 2019
- Effective Teaching Strategies, Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), 2017