View Biology directory
Elyse Vaccaro

Faculty Member

Dr. Elyse Vaccaro

Biography

I graduated from Williams College, MA with dual BAs in art and biology. For my doctoral work I studied how salamander sex pheromones affect female motivated behaviors and I graduated from Oregon State University with a Ph.D. in Zoology/Integrative Biology. For my postdoctoral work, I studied how areas in the female salamander brain are activated by sex pheromones. For this, I was granted an NSF International Postdoctoral Fellowship to study in a neuroscience lab at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

I have been teaching general biology, human anatomy and physiology, and neurophysiology for 14+ years now. I love teaching both lectures and laboratories and my favorite subject is the reproductive system because while the rest of the body's systems are concerned with growth and maintenance, the reproductive system aspires to future generations. It is the visionary, innovative and (literally) creative system.

Education

Postdoctoral Research, University of Guelph, 2013

Major: Neuroscience

PhD, Oregon State University, 2011

Major: Integrative Biology

Intensive Lecture-Laboratory Course, Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole, 2008

Major: Neural Systems & Behavior

BA, Williams College, 1999

Major: Biology and Art

Teaching

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2025

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2025

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2025

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2025

ZOOL 232H

Human Anatomy BB, Spring 2025

BIOL 489R

Student Research, Spring 2025

BIOL 489R

Student Research, Spring 2025

Presentations

Vaccaro, Elyse (Presenter & Author), Biology Department Seminar Series, "The History of the Body", Biology Department, UVU, Orem. (February 14, 2024)
Vaccaro, Elyse , Online Teaching Academy, "Creating Effective Learning Environments", OTL, UVU. (October 1, 2023)
Vaccaro, Elyse , Houck, Lynne D, Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists, "Modulation of female receptivity by male courtship pheromones". (July, 2009)
Vaccaro, Elyse , Houck, Lynne D, Keystone Symposium_ Chemical Senses_ Receptors & Circuits, "Pheromone signaling system modulates female receptivity in a plethodontid salamander". (March, 2009)
Vaccaro, Elyse , Houck, Lynne D, Society for Integrative & Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, "Courtship pheromones modulate female receptivity in a plethodontid salamander". (January, 2009)
Vaccaro, Elyse , Houck, Lynne D, Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting, "Variation and individual consistency of male pheromone delivery behavior in a plethodontid salamander". (July, 2007)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Vaccaro, Elyse , Houck, Lynne D, "Pheromone components elicit distinct responses in female salamanders to sexual and nonsexual stimuli" .
Eddy, Sarah L, Vaccaro, Elyse , Baggett, Christine L, Kiemnec-Tyburczy, Karen M, (2015) "Sperm mass longevity and sperm storage in the female reproductive tract of Plethodon shermani" .
Vaccaro, Elyse , (2011) "Pheromone mechanisms and behavioral strategies for maximizing courtship success in a terrestrial salamander, Plethodon shermani" .
Vaccaro, Elyse , Feldhoff, Pamela W, Feldhoff, Richard C, Houck, Lynne D, (2010) "A pheromone mechanism for swaying female mate choice_ enhanced affinity for a sexual stimulus in a woodland salamander" .
Houck, Lynne D, Vaccaro, Elyse , Kiemnec, Karen M, (2010) "Flexibility and consistency of male courtship behavior in a plethodontid salamander" .
Vaccaro, Elyse , Feldhoff, Pamela W, Feldhoff, Richard C, Houck, Lynne D, (2009) "Male courtship pheromones suppress female tendency to feed but not to flee in a plethodontid salamander" .

Awards

Honors Faculty Fellowship

Honors Program, UVU - April 25, 2024

For this award, you will complete the following activities with the Honors Program_
- Teach HONR 2100 in Fall 2024 and possibly HONR 100R on a special topic in Spring 2025
- Involve Honors students that HONR 2100 class and the program broadly in co-curricular activities (UMFA’s registrar and collection, Eccles Health Sciences Library’s director and collection, U of U’s history of science scholar, and a medical art historian from Williams College).
- You will prepare some promotional materials by August 20, 2024 to help us share these events with students as they choose events for the semester. We do have graphic design support available from our student admin.
- Serve on the Honors Program Steering Committee, assisting with program admissions and operations.

Core Faculty Status

Westminster College

International Research Postdoctoral Fellowship

U.S. National Science Foundation

McKenzie Endowment Graduate Award

Gamma Sigma Delta

Aline D. Gross Scholarship

Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole

Bruce Family Research Grant in Herpetology

HBS Board of Scientific Advisors