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Darcy Kelley is interested in the neurobiology of voice – the complex acoustic cues used in vocal communication to convey sex, age, reproductive state, and social intent – and the genetic changes that underlie the evolution of vocal circuits. Kelley’s research focuses on the neurobiology of vocal communication using Xenopus laevis, the South African clawed frog, as an experimental model system she developed to investigate voice using molecular, cellular, developmental, and systems neuroscience approaches. She co-founded Frontiers of Science, an innovative core science course for first-year students, which includes an African field research component, to foster experimental design and big data skills.