Faculty Profiles

Colleges and Departments

Dr. Peggy Biga

  • Chair - Professor - Biology
Portrait of Dr. Peggy Biga

Biography and expertise

Education
1993-1997 Bachelor of Science, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX
1997-1999 Master of Science, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX, Nutrition. Mentor: Brian J. May
1999-2003 Doctor of Philosophy, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, Nutritional Physiology
Dissertation: The effects of recombinant bovine somatotropin on growth-related genes in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Mentor: Gerald T. Schelling (d. 2001), Troy L. Ott
Postdoctoral Training
2004 - 2005 Research Associate, Great Lakes WATER Institute, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI; Mentor: Frederick ‘Rick’ Goetz
2003 - 2004 Postdoctoral Scientist Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA; Mentor: Frederick ‘Rick’ Goetz

Education

Doctorate Degree

PhD in Animal Physiology

University of Idaho, 2003

Master's Degree

MS in Animal Science

Angelo State University, 1999

Bachelor's Degree

BS in Animal Science, Chemistry, and Management

Angelo State University, 1997

Research Interests

  • Biga, Peggy R (Principal). Just Keep Gilling: Dietary and genetic strategies to improve hypoxia tolerance in rainbow trout., USDA, Federal, $650000. (Funded: June 1, 2025 - March 31, 2028). Grant.
  • Biga, Peggy R (Co-Principal). BII: Integration Initiative: Sex, Aging, Genomics, and Evolution (IISAGE)., NSF, Federal, $765000. (Funded: June 1, 2025 - August 31, 2026). Grant.
  • Fang, Y., Su, Y., Meisel, R., Walters, J. R., Gamble, T., Randolph, E. C., … Duan, J. (Ellie). (2026). Comparative transcriptomic analysis of embryonic stem cells across mammalian species. iScience, 29(1), 114542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.114542
  • Shi, M., Li, G., Araujo, H. M., Lee, A. S., Zhang, J., Lee, Y. L., … Duan, J. E. (2025). Sex-biased transcriptome in in vitro produced bovine early embryos. Cell & Bioscience, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13578-025-01459-x
  • Biga, P. R., Duan, J. E., Young, T. E., Marks, J. R., Bronikowski, A., Decena, L. P., … Riddle, N. C. (2025). Hallmarks of aging: A user’s guide for comparative biologists. Ageing Research Reviews, 104, 102616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2024.102616
  • Freij, K., Cleveland, B., & Biga, P. R. (2024). Remodeling of the epigenetic landscape in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, offspring in response to maternal choline intake. Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics ., 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbd.2024.101348
  • Reid, R. M., Turkmen, S., Cleveland, B. M., & Biga, P. R. (2024). Direct actions of growth hormone in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, skeletal muscle cells in vitro. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 297, 111725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111725
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Inaugural Outstanding Chapter Award, Scholars Strategy Network. 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Humble Hero Award, City of Birmingham, Division of Youth Services. 2017
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Altruism Award, UAB Department of Biology. 2017
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Creativity is a Decision Prize, UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center. 2016
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Stop Obesity Challenge Winner, Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center for Health Disparities Research, UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center. 2015
View all awards
  1. Co-Chair

    Scholars Strategy Network

  2. Other

    International Society for Fish Endocrinology

  3. Member

    North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology - Awards Committee

  4. Chair

    Aquatic Animal Models for Human Disease Conference

  5. Chair

    American Fisheries Society, Physiology Section

  6. Coordinator / Organizer

    Aquatic Animal Models of Human Disease Conference