Story: Lisa Sollie | Photo: Cody Ingram
In a small town in Brazil, Dr. Vania Assis grew up riding horses and tending pigs and chickens alongside her father, even helping butcher cattle when the need arose. Back then, she never imagined her love for the outdoors and animals would lead to a life in science.
Assis is now an assistant professor at the University of West Alabama, where she examines how amphibians respond to environmental challenges鈥攊ntegrating ecology, endocrinology, and immunology to better understand biodiversity conservation and disease resilience. She is also committed to bringing science to the community through public talks, field events, international collaborations, and hands-on experiences with local wildlife.
At UWA, that outreach is closely tied to the university鈥檚 Cahaba Biodiversity Center, where Assis conducts field research connecting conservation physiology with the Center鈥檚 mission to advance biodiversity research and education.
That commitment to education and opportunity is shaped by her own path. She and her brother are first-generation college students, fulfilling their mother鈥檚 dream of a better future through education.
鈥淢om wanted us to have more opportunities,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he never interfered in where or what we studied, she just encouraged us to earn a college degree.鈥�
That encouragement led Assis to S茫o Paulo State University (UNESP), one of Brazil鈥檚 largest and most respected public university systems, where she began her studies after her dream of becoming a medical doctor didn鈥檛 pan out. It was 2003, during the boom of the human genome, and like many others interested in biology at that time, Assis initially wanted to work in genetics.
When that wasn鈥檛 the right fit, she explored a wide range of research鈥攆rom molecular biology working with trout, to studying depression models in mice within the pharmacology department. It wasn鈥檛 until she began working with amphibians, and understanding how hormones influence behavior and immune response, that she found her lifelong focus: protecting one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates.
Science also led her to learn English.
鈥淚 was doing research in endocrinology in college, and there was a book called, Behavioral Endocrinology, but the only copy was written in English,鈥� Assis said with a laugh. 鈥淭here was no Google Translate or ChatGPT back then鈥攋ust me with printed pages and a dictionary. Although college was free at state universities, my brother and I didn鈥檛 live in our hometown, so our parents were paying for rent, food, and our expenses. Even though we were already in debt, I asked my mom for more money to start studying English. I knew I couldn鈥檛 move ahead in my field without it.鈥�
After completing a one-year English course, Assis continued teaching herself by reading scientific papers. It wasn鈥檛 until her first six-month doctoral experience in the U.S. that her English improved dramatically. Even then, while she could talk about science, she lacked vocabulary for everyday conversations.
鈥淓ven now, in the classroom, I occasionally slip up and call water 鈥櫭ua,鈥欌�� Assis said. 鈥淭he other day, I was talking about a plant that changes color depending on the pH level of the soil, and I couldn鈥檛 think of the word in English. I knew in Portuguese we called it hort锚nsia鈥攊t was hydrangea,鈥� she recalled.
While she hopes to inspire others with her love for amphibians through teaching, both in the classroom and at the CBC, Assis and her husband, Jefferson, have also been embracing their new life in Livingston since arriving last fall.
鈥淚n Brazil, I often spent two hours a day in traffic,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven when we lived in Tampa, I was constantly commuting on I-75, while my husband worked from home without access to a car. Now, it takes just minutes to get to campus. We鈥檙e able to have lunch together every day and go to the gym. It鈥檚 the work-life balance we鈥檇 been missing all those years.鈥�
For Assis, adapting to new places isn鈥檛 just a personal journey, it mirrors the way she believes science should be approached.
鈥淚f we only study what we know, we will only know what we study,鈥� she said, a mindset she encourages her students to challenge.
Right now, she and her students are in what she calls 鈥榮tage one鈥�: learning what鈥檚 there.
鈥淭ake the CBC for example,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know yet which amphibians live there, so we鈥檙e working to document them through a survey. I visit the Center every other weekend, and I have two students working alongside me鈥擲ophie Phillips a conservation and field biology major, and Pearl Davis, an integrated marketing communications major.鈥�
Her goal is to create a comprehensive amphibian guide for the CBC, combining scientific research with visual storytelling. 鈥淪ophie and I are gathering the data, and Pearl will create the artwork,鈥� Assis explained.
She envisions the guide as an interactive resource, either online or accessible through a QR code, where users could see images of each species and hear their calls. 鈥淗earing the call is the best way to identify frogs, she said. 鈥淪alamanders don鈥檛 make noise, so for those, people will rely on visual identification.鈥�
Perhaps in time, Assis鈥� love for amphibians will spill over to others at UWA. For now, she is embracing both the work and the life she has built in Livingston鈥攐ne where science, family, and community are no longer competing, but finally in balance.
It鈥檚 a long way from the small town where she grew up, but in many ways, it鈥檚 starting to feel like home.