Division of Natural Sciences

Ioanna Visviki, Ph.D.

Ioanna Visviki Headshot

Ad Lux Professor of Biology
Ph.D., City University of New York
M.A., City University of New York
B.A., Columbia University

ioanna.visviki@mountsaintvincent.edu

Areas of Interest

  • Effects of heavy metals and metalloids on aquatic biota
  • Contemporary evolution
  • Evolution of life history characteristics
  • Effects of biological and socioeconomic factors on human longevity

Dr. Visviki conducts ecotoxicological studies on the acute and chronic effects of metals and metalloids on the ultrastructure and population dynamics of aquatic organisms. Recipient of a STAR EPA Grant to develop sediment quality criteria for arsenic.

Dr. Visviki’s lab has undertaken a separate project on the evolution of human life history characteristics. Life history includes an organism’s growth to sexual maturity, onset and length of reproductive period, frequency of reproduction, number, size, and sex ratio of offspring, parental investment, aging and longevity, as well as energy allocation and trade-offs. Research on human life history characteristics faces special challenges because of the presence of multiple confounding factors. For that reason, Dr. Visviki and her students study a novel population, women of the Catholic Congregation Sisters of Charity of New York that were born during the 19th century. Their objectives are to identify the biological and childhood/adulthood socioeconomic factors that affect aging and human longevity. In particular they are investigating the roles of immigration, family size, father’s profession, adult profession, education and birth cohort on life span.

Courses

  • BIOL 109 Anatomy and Physiology I
  • BIOL 110 Anatomy and Physiology II
  • BIOL 111 General Biology I
  • BIOL 112 General Biology II
  • BIOL 301 Comparative Chordate Anatomy
  • BIOL 310/410 Research in Biology
  • BIOL 317 Evolutionary Biology
  • BIOL 401 Histology
  • BIOL/ NSCI 440 Understanding Evolution

Recent Publications
Visviki I, Judge M. 2020. Chronic arsenate exposure affects amphipod size distribution and reproduction. PeerJ  DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8645

Recent Presentatios
I. Soriano, S. Mughal, C. Estrella, I. Visviki. 2020. Education and Longevity in a Female Religious Order. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Washington, D.C. April 22-25

K. Dominguez, I. Soriano, A. Niknejad, I. Visviki. 2019. Education and Longevity in 19th Century Cohorts. Evolution 2019, Providence, Rhode Island June 21-25

I. Visviki, N. Malizia, A. Niknejad. 2019. Socioeconomic Status and Longevity in a Religious Order. Sixth EvoDemoSoc Annual Meeting, Coral Gables, Florida, January 10-12.

Professional Affiliations
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Population Association of America (PAA)
Evolutionary Demography Society (EvoDemoS)
Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE)
Sigma Xi
Beta Beta Beta (Moderator of the Chi Epsilon Chapter)