Ray Allen, Ph.D

Boozhoo! I’m Ray or Niigaanigaabaw and my pronouns are he/him/his. I’m an NSF postdoctoral fellow at UW-Madison’s Center for Limnology at Trout Lake Station. My current research focuses on the phenology of freshwater fishes in what is currently called Wisconsin. Specifically, I’m assessing disease development of Muskellunge and Walleye in the ceded territory.

I am an enrolled citizen of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, and was raised on the tribe’s reservation. I received my A.B. in Chemistry-Biology from Ripon College in 2015 where I was a McNair Scholar and student researcher. In 2021, I received my PhD in Biology with a minor in Science & Society from Duke University in 2021. During my time at Duke I was an NSF graduate research fellow, a BioCoRE Scholar, an inaugural Race & the Professions Fellow, and I received the 2019 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring.

Outside of my work as a researcher, I’m a beginner Ojibwemowin language learner and beadwork artist. For the latter, my pieces intersect on Ojibwe styles, non-human animals and plants, and popular culture. In Fall 2022, I was elected as general council member for the Lac du Flambeau Tribe for a two-year term.

My current research interests are how a changing climate impacts the phenology of freshwater fishes in what is currently called Wisconsin. Specifically, I’m looking into how a changing climate affects Muskellunge and Walleye disease development.

Concurrently as a junior Science & Technologies Scholar, I’m investigating how human relationships with lakes in the area impact the research in Western institutions, inform (or don’t) natural resource policies and management practices, and the affect the health of non-human animals and plants in these waters. I have a particular interest performing this work through an Indigenous STS lens.

My PhD dissertation work in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus revolved around larval immune system development, and injury repair and response. For my minor, I focused on the origin of sea urchins in research and how it’s linked to colonial research practices in the origins of marine field stations. If you’re interested in knowing more, please check out the link to my dissertation here: https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/handle/10161/24356