Jeremy Abels
Credentials: PhD Student - Weber Lab
Address:
I am interested in how climate change is impacting gene expression and epigenetics in North American fishes.
Kaitlyn Abshire (She/her/hers)
Credentials: PhD Student - Sharma Lab
Address:
I study snails and slugs. I am specifically interested in embryogenesis, the development of their tentacles (eye stalks and olfactory stalks), and how pollution affects the development of snails and slugs.
Emily Adler (She/Her)
Credentials: PhD Student - Ives Lab
Address:
I am interested in how benthic and pelagic communities are linked and the effects of disturbance on those linkages.
Eldon Ager (He/him/his)
Credentials: PhD Student - Hite Lab
Address:
My research will focus on developing a general framework, informed by empirical data, to understand and predict how iron bioavailability affects key pathogen traits and population dynamics that drive transmission.
Ademola Ajibola
Credentials: PhD Student - Newmark/Issigonis labs
Address:
My research will focus on schistosome biology. I will be investigating how schistosome parasites infect, invade and evade their host immune system, and using planarians as models for understanding schistosome and it’s complex life cycle.
Nathan Anderson
Credentials: PhD Student - Ragsdale Lab
Address:
I am interested in the genomic response to selection. My research focuses on developing Diffusion models for complex selective pressures such as quantitative traits in changing environments, and background selection.
Katie Andresen
Credentials: PhD Student - Madison Lab
Address:
My lab studies genetic regulation of social behaviors in songbirds, particularly in Gouldian finches and zebra finches.
Lab: https://integrativebiology.wisc.edu/staff/madison-farrah/
Kally Arnzen
Credentials: MS Student - Hardin Lab
Address:
I study the molecular processes and roles of particular genes that control epithelial morphogenesis during the embryonic development of C. elegans.
Hannah Ashe (She/Her)
Credentials: PhD Student - Orrock Lab
Address:
My research will focus on the effects of biological invasions on small mammal ecology and behavior. Specifically, I will examine differing rates of cache pilferage between habitats invaded with common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and habitats that have undergone buckthorn removal.
Ayken Askapuli
Credentials: PhD Student - Hawks Lab
Address:
I study human population genetics and anthropology. In particular, I am interested in understanding the evolutionary forces and events that have shaped the genomes of modern human populations in Central Asia and Siberia.
K. Riley Book
Credentials: PhD Student - Ives Lab
Address:
I am interested in processes that drive variation in the structure and function of ecological communities, as well as the influence that abiotic and biotic conditions have on the outcomes of these processes. At Lake Mývatn, Iceland, I pair observational surveys and experiments to investigate the influence of acute disturbances such as cyanobacterial blooms and wind events on benthic algal communities, with a focus on their role in shaping nutrient availability and biogeochemical cycling.
Lab: https://ives.labs.wisc.edu/
Elizabeth Braatz (She/Her/Hers)
Credentials: PhD Student - Gratton Lab
Address:
I am studying participatory science and pollinators across Wisconsin in partnership with existing DNR programs.
Kaylee Browder
Credentials: PhD Student - Newmark/Issigonis Lab
Address:
I study the mechanisms by which germ cells are regulated, and how localized niche cues and physiological/environmental signals regulate their proper differentiation.
Roberto Carrera-Martinez
Credentials: PhD Student - Schoville Lab
Address:
I study earthworm evolution, systematics and taxonomy in the Caribbean Islands. My research focusses on evolution and genomics of large size earthworms in Puerto Rico and species diversity and taxonomy.
Lab: https://molecularecology.russell.wisc.edu/roberto-carrera-martinez/
Tom Coyne (He/Him)
Credentials: PhD Student - Sharma Lab
Address:
I am interested in the genetic regulation of embryological development, and how changes in development provide the material for evolutionary changes. I am currently working to uncover the roles of genes involved in leg patterning in the daddy long legs.
Dahn-young Dong (He/him)
Credentials: PhD Student - Schoville Lab
Address:
I research on how populations persist across spatial scales and evolve over landscapes.
Lab: https://molecularecology.russell.wisc.edu/
Jacob Fredette-Roman
Credentials: PhD Student - Sharp Lab
Address:
My research is on a copepod species that has shown invasive potential from saltwater to freshwater environments. I’m interested in understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of these invasions to predict how this copepod species will fare in the face of climate change.
Mark Fuka (he/him)
Credentials: PhD Student - Orrock Lab
Address:
My research focuses on the effects that invasive plants can have on the activity of small mammals, leading to increased vegetative cover resulting in elevated levels of seed removal. I seek to understand how the seasonal leaf phenology of the invasive shrub common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) can impact rodent seed removal across all four seasons.
Lab: https://orrocklab.zoology.wisc.edu/
Chrissy Grebe (she/her/hers)
Credentials: PhD Student - Strier Lab
Address:
I study the thermal physiology of chacma baboons by combining field data and biophysical modeling to investigate the species' plasticity amid changing environmental conditions.
Michelle Homann (she/they)
Credentials: PhD Student - Damschen Lab
Address:
I am interested in studying plant community and climate change ecology in fire-maintained grasslands with a specific emphasis on restoration outcomes. Throughout my dissertation work, I plan to investigate the roles of fire timing, community assembly, and the overarching implications of a changing climate as drivers of plant community composition.
Lab: https://damschenlab.zoology.wisc.edu/
Timon Keller
Credentials: PhD Student - Turner Lab
Address:
I study how climate change and disturbance regimes impact ecosystem processes and structure in forests of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Lab: http://landscape.zoology.wisc.edu/index.html
Emily Kerns (she/her)
Credentials: PhD Student - Weber Lab
Address:
I study the role epigenetics plays in evolution of natural populations. I am especially interested in how heritable epigenetics may influence species (mal)adaptive responses to rapid environmental fluctuations as climate change advances.
Lab: https://weberlab.integrativebiology.wisc.edu/
Lloyd Kirk
Credentials: PhD Student - Ragsdale Lab
Address:
I am a computer enthusiast and an avid learner of statistical and population genetics theory, with particular interests in structural variation and its fitness effects. I’m currently working on methods for computing two-locus statistics from tree sequences.
Benjamin Klementz
Credentials: PhD Student - Sharma Lab
Address:
I'm broadly interested in the mechanisms underlying the diversification of arachnids, including whole genome duplication and subsequent rates of gene retention, as well as genetic drivers of body plan patterning as they relate to novel structures. I use a mix of phylogenomic and functional genetic approaches, with daddy longlegs and vinegaroons as my main systems.
Alli Kneisel
Credentials: PhD Student - Turner Lab
Address:
My research focuses on the function of freshwater ecosystems, particularly ponds and wetlands in urban settings. I am interested in how these systems provide ecosystem services and the role that they play in the larger urban landscape.
Garrett Knowlton (he/him)
Credentials: PhD Student - Turner Lab
Address:
My research will focus on modeling future forest landscapes under divergent climate and disturbance scenarios. I will explore the implications of future landscape trajectories for conservation and biodiversity.
Jade Kochanski (she/her)
Credentials: PhD student - Gratton Lab
Address:
My research is at the intersection of population genetics, restoration- , conservation- , landscape - ecology. I use a population genetics approach to understand whether prairie restorations sustain and increase pollinator populations. In other words, the source-sink dynamics of bumble bees and the success of prairie restoration as a conservation tool.
Arielle Link (she/her)
Credentials: PhD Student - Turner Lab
Address:
I study how changing forest disturbance regimes impact ecosystem function and nutrient cycling across spatial and temporal scales in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. As wildfire increases in frequency and severity throughout the west, it is increasingly important to understand how converging drivers of change will affect post-fire regeneration and forest resilience. I am also passionate about advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of ecology.
Qinxiao Liu
Credentials: PhD Student - Ives Lab
Address:
I'm interested in the dynamics of species interaction and the underlying ecological and evolutionary processes.
Ives Lab: https://ives.labs.wisc.edu/
Elsa Luebke (She/Her/Hers)
Credentials: PhD Student - Payseur Lab
Address:
Using the Island Syndrome concept, I am broadly interested in exploring how genes influence behavior. I am interested in how particular behaviors evolve and the selection for that behavior.
Robert Melde (He/him)
Credentials: PhD Student - Sharp Lab
Address:
I am interested in studying what affects the rate and spectrum of mutations using mutation accumulation.
Lab: https://sharp.genetics.wisc.edu/
Gigi Melone
Credentials: PhD Student - Crall Lab
Address:
I study the effects of wildfire ash and smoke on plant-insect interactions and the effects of heatwaves on bee biology.
Nick Milicic (he/him/his)
Credentials: PhD Student - Ehrlich Lab
Address:
I study the development of motor coordination and adaptation in larval zebrafish.
Basith Mohamed Nasik
Credentials: MS Student- Blair Lab
Address:
My research is centered on the development of the wing of fruit fly, Drosophila Melanogaster.
Jillian Neece (She/Her)
Credentials: MS Student - Turner Lab
Address:
I study how topographically complex terrain influences forest resilience in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In particular, I am interested in the mechanisms that drive tree regeneration following stand-replacing fire.
Anna Pieper (She/Her)
Credentials: MS Student - Turner Lab
Address:
Through modelling, I will research the impacts on biodiversity affected by agricultural management changes and the consequences of climate change within the upper Mississippi Basin.
Lab: https://turnerlab.ibio.wisc.edu/
Ipsita Srinivas (She/her/hers)
Credentials: PhD Student - Hite Lab
Address:
My research focuses on understanding the epidemiological and ecological drivers of spatio-temporal variation in helminth transmission. My work combines geospatial modeling, lab experiments, and field patterns of ongoing epidemics.
Lab: https://evolutionaryepidemiology.org/
Maddy Teter (She/Her)
Credentials: MS Student - Johnson Lab
Address:
I am interested in how disturbances generated by biotic and abiotic factors play a role in the functioning of seagrass ecosystems in coastal marine habitats.
Jinhui Wang
Credentials: PhD Student - Lee Lab
Address:
My research will focus on molecular mechanisms involved in copepod adaptations to climate change.
Changyue (Kirsty) Yu
Credentials: PhD Student - Weber Lab
Address:
I am interested in using genomic and genetics tools to study the evolution of tapeworm in threespine stickleback.
Ruiling Zhong
Credentials: PhD Student - Claire Richardson's Lab
Address:
I'm working on characterizing the endolysosomal homeostasis behavior in C.elegans neurons, and looking for upstream regulators of this process.
Patricia Zito
Credentials: PhD Student - Lee Lab
Address:
I will working on finding signature of selection and structural changes in copepods adapted under different salinity levels. While I don't have a thesis yet, I'm excited to work more with bioinformatics, molecular evolution and evolutionary genomics.