Stephen Andrew Watts
Professor, Graduate Program Director, Department of Biology, UAB College of Arts and Sciences
(205) 934-2045
Dr. Stephen Watts began his career in aquatic animal science and joined UAB in 1987. His lab has developed a strong program in animal science as it relates to the nutrition of marine and aquatic organisms. His interests include understanding basic mechanisms of nutritional regulation as well as applied aquaculture.
Over the last two decades Watts has worked with collaborators to develop understanding of nutritional requirements of lab-reared aquatic animal models in biomedical sciences. This includes understanding the role of nutrition in animal disease onset and progression, with emphasis as to how it relates to human nutrition and disease. The laboratory has a strong interest in obesity and co-morbidities. An additional area of research involves the development and application of standardized reference diets in a number of relevant organisms. This work includes the evaluation of developing foodstuffs for use and relevance in animal diets, including single cell proteins.
Watts has published over 180 articles in the field and currently teaches Cellular Biology to juniors and seniors at UAB. He is the Graduate Program Director for the Department of Biology. His work has been funded by NIH, NSF, NOAA, and a variety of foundations and industry groups. He is the only faculty at UAB to win the prestigious Caroline and Charles P. Ireland Award for Scholarly Distinction, the Presidential Award for Teaching, and the Graduate Dean’s Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentorship.