Vanessa Anne Koelling

Dr. Vanessa Anne Koelling, 47, of Montgomery, Alabama, died on November 18, 2025, after complications following surgery. Though her passing was sudden, Vanessa lived a life full of meaning, joy, and dedication to her family, friends, and to her research and teaching career.

Vanessa was the only child of her loving parents, Norvella and James Koelling of Yamhill, Oregon. Vanessa’s deep appreciation for flowering plants and wildflowers began in Oregon, where her parents encouraged her curiosity through annual camping trips and long afternoons spent with her mom identifying wildflowers on their 300-acre property. Her early years were also shaped by a love of travel, with adventures that took her to Canada, Mexico, Ireland and Scotland after high school, and Egypt after college. She treasured time exploring new places with friends as well, including a trip to London. She graduated as Valedictorian of Yamhill Carlton High School in 1996.

She attended Reed College in Portland, OR, where she thrived both personally and academically, forming many life-long friendships and conducting undergraduate research on nectar-spur variation in Delphinium nuttallii with her mentor, Dr. Keith Karoly. After graduating, she continued working in the Karoly lab as a research technician, making substantial contributions to studies of floral trait evolution in Brassica.

In 2002, Vanessa joined the University of Georgia’s Department of Genetics as a PhD student, working with Dr. Rodney Mauricio on reproductive barriers between two species of Leavenworthia endemic to the limestone outcrops and cedar glades of Alabama. After earning her doctorate in 2008, she moved to the University of Kansas, joining Dr. John Kelly’s lab and advancing research on plant mating-system evolution in Mimulus.

Vanessa then joined the faculty at the University of Puget Sound as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology, where she taught undergraduate courses in Evolution and Genetics. In 2018, she became an Assistant Professor in the Biology and Environmental Science Department at Auburn University at Montgomery, where she taught both Genetics and Evolution and coordinated the undergraduate Biology lecture and lab course. She ultimately redesigned this course into a full-semester Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), a massive undertaking that provided students with hands-on, inquiry-driven learning.

Vanessa was deeply committed to mentoring students and expanding access to research experiences. She guided many undergraduates through independent research projects at both the University of Puget Sound and at Auburn, her students from both universities earning travel awards that allowed them to present their work at international scientific conferences. Vanessa earned tenure at Auburn University and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2023.

Vanessa was unfailingly strong, certain, kind, and funny. Cerebral and politically engaged, she spoke with a clarity rooted in both intellect and principle, and remained deeply committed to truth and to the scientific process. Her wit was as sharp as her convictions, and her honesty was refreshing and rare. She loved traveling, visiting botanical gardens and nature reserves, seeing live music with friends, hiking, and finding the best spicy foods and dumplings wherever she went. She was active in local political campaigns in Alabama and was equally passionate about native plant restoration.

Vanessa was a devoted daughter, friend, mentor, and colleague. She was deeply loved, and her absence is felt profoundly. She is survived by her mother, many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and numerous friends.

Celebrations of Life will be held in both Alabama and Oregon in the Spring of 2026.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations to one of the following:

• The Society for the Study of Evolution’s Early Career Researcher awards (R.C. Lewontin Early Award, Rosemary Grant Advanced Award, or Student/Postdoc Travel Supplement, under the donations page): https://www.evolutionsociety.org/

• The National MPS Society: https://mpssociety.org/give/

• The Azalea Society of America: https://azaleas.org/