Degrees held:

Ph.D in Biology from The Pennsylvania State University, 2003

B.A. in Biology from Oberlin College, 1993

Academic Positions

Visiting Assistant Professor at Denison University, 2009 to present

Visiting Assistant Professor at Bowling Green State University, OH, 2006-2009

Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware, College of Marine Studies, Lewes, DE, 2003-2006

Research

I use molecular genetic techniques to answer phylogenetic and ecological questions about natural populations.  My current and past research has involved looking at the overall genetic diversity of captive and naturally occurring populations, estimating population sizes, measuring the amount of gene flow between populations, and identifying new species and reconstructing their phylogenetic history.  I have worked with vertebrate and invertebrate animals as well as with microbial symbionts.   My most recent work involves a species of African cichlid (a fish) which may be extinct in the wild and that is kept in culture at a number of zoos in the United States.  I am using data from microsatellite loci amplified across 3-4 generations to estimate 1) the overall genetic diversity in this captive population, 2) the effective population size of the Toledo Zoo population and 3) the rate of loss of genetic diversity across generations.   My previous work was with deep sea tube worm populations at oil seeps in the Gulf of Mexico, where I estimated the amount of gene flow between isolated populations and identified the symbiont type found in each of the two co-occuring host tube worm species.  I hope to continue both areas of research while at Denison while expanding into new research topics.

While I am new at Denison, I have worked with undergraduate researchers in my previous positions, and I look forward to having Denison student researchers beginning in the summer of 2010.

Professional Memberships

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

 

Current and recent funding

SETGO summer research program (2009, $1000)

Fresno Chaffee Zoo Wildlife Conservation Fund (awarded 2009, $2320)

Professional Service

Manuscript Reviewer:  Genetica, Biological Bulletin, Deep Sea Research

Grant Reviewer: National Science Foundation (NSF) …