Rick McLaughlin, PhD spent his childhood observing nature. “Even though I grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, I had collections of insects and rocks,” he says. “When we visited family in rural areas, I spent my time exploring at the creek.” As an adult, he turned that love of nature into an exciting research career at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI).
In college, Rick earned his undergraduate degree describing the biodiversity of a new park. “I’m a naturalist at heart,” he says. “Observing the way nature has adapted to environmental conditions sparked my interest in evolution. From there, I became fascinated by coevolution — when organisms evolve together in response to each other.”
