She received her B.S. in marine science from the University of South Carolina in 1994 and her M.S. in fisheries and wildlife from Michigan State University in 1997. Dr Nichols earned her Ph.D. in zoology from Washington State University in 2002 and was a National Research Council postdoctoral Fellow at the National Marine Fisheries Services, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, until 2005, when she joined the faculty at Purdue. Dr Nichols has published in the fields of ecotoxicology, genetics, and ecology. Her current research interests lie at the intersection of evolution, genetics, physiology, and ecology.