Chase Kinsey

Biography

I earned my undergraduate degree at Auburn University in Wildlife Ecology & Management. While at Auburn, I had the chance to work on numerous research projects such as quantifying morphological character displacement in hybridized toads in Alabama, studying the social hierarchy of primates at Zoo Atlanta, planting rivercane in Mississippi under varying lighting conditions, and measuring habitat use of green salamanders at Redstone Arsenal.

I then went to Georgia Southern University where I completed my MS in Biology under Dr. Lance McBrayer. My thesis was on bipedal locomotion in the Florida Scrub Lizard and the geometric morphometric changes of the shoulder girdle of Phrynosomatid lizards across habitat. I also worked on the thermal ecology of Curly Tailed Lizards in South Florida.

I completed my education at Clemson University where I earned my PhD in Biology under Dr. Richard Blob. I had the opportunity to work on many different animals including frogs, turtles, fish, lizards, and alligators. Most of my work was focused on the evolutionary morphology and biomechanics of metamorphosing anurans.

At Belmont University, I continue research on the locomotor performance and evolutionary morphology of fish, frogs, and other small ectotherms. I'm specifically interested in the interplay between environmental and physiological variation and animal locomotion across development.  The classes I teach are related to my research interests, including Human Anatomy & Physiology I & II and Herpetology, as well as General Biology and Introduction to Environmental Science lab.

When I’m not having fun in the classroom or lab, I’m hanging out at Nashville Zoo or various parks around Nashville with my wife and three kids. I also spend my time playing guitar and piano and teaching martial arts.