Biography
Taya Misheva received a BA in Anthropology from Northwestern University, an MA in (Biological) Anthropology from Arizona State University, and a PhD in Biology from Arizona State University. Prior to joining Penn State Brandywine in 2026, Dr. Misheva completed an NSF Individual Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Syracuse University.
Dr. Misheva is a biology education researcher whose work focuses on student acceptance of evolution, namely investigating what factors pose barriers to evolution acceptance and how those barriers can be addressed by biology instructors. Much of his research thus far has focused on improving the survey tools that are used to measure student views on evolution, and he has taken part in organizing a research coordination network on this topic. Dr. Misheva’s work on survey and assessment development has also included developing an assessment that measures student understanding of Evolutionary Medicine, contributing to an investigating on how demographic questions are collected in biology education research, and helping train graduate students in qualitative methods in STEM education research.
Selected Publications:
Misheva, T., Coburn, K. N., & Wiles, J. R. (2026). Are They Cousins? Exploring University Students’ Acceptance of Common Ancestry in Evolution. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 25(1), ar1. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.25-07-0155
Coburn, K., Troy, K., Busch, C. A., Barber-Choi, N., Bonney, K. M., Couch, B., García-Ojeda, M. E., Hutto, R., Famble, L., Flagg, M., Gladding, T., Kowalkowski, A., Landaverde, C., Lo, S. M., MacLeod, K., Mbogo, B., Misheva, T., Trinh, A., Vides, R., … Maloy, J. (2025). Cisnormative Language and Erasure of Trans* and Genderqueer Student Representation in Biology Education Research. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 24(1), ar3. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.24-01-0033
Misheva, T., Wiles, J. R., Barnes, M. E., & Brownell, S. E. (2024). Defining Acceptance of Evolution: A Delphi Study. NABT Biology Education Research Symposium. 2024 National Association of Biology Teachers Professional Development Conference.
Barnes, M. E.,* Aini, R. Q., Collins, J. P., Dunk, R. D. P., Holt, E. A., Jensen, J.,* Klein, J. R., Misheva, T.,* Nadelson, L. S., Reiss, M. J., Romine, W. L., Shtulman, A., Townley, A. L., Wiles, J. R.,* Zheng, Y., & Brownell, S. E.* (2024). Evaluating the current state of evolution acceptance instruments: A research coordination network meeting report. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 17(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-024-00194-0
Misheva, T., Brownell, S. E., & Barnes, M. E. (2023). “It’s More Of A Me-Thing Than AnEvolution Thing”: Exploring The Validity Of Evolution Acceptance Measures Using Student Interviews. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 22(4), 1–13. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1187/cbe.23-01-0022
Misheva, T., Nesse, R. M., Grunspan, D. Z., & Brownell, S. E. (2023). The EvMed Assessment (EMA): A test for measuring student understanding of core concepts in evolutionary medicine. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, eoad028. https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoad028
Barnes, M. E.,* Misheva, T.,* Supriya, K., Rutledge, M., & Brownell, S. E. (2022). A Revised Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution: Introducing the MATE 2.0. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 21(1), ar10. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-05-0127