Alam, Zul
zul.alam@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Alan Brelsford
Interests: Supergene evolution and population genetics
Apodaca, Samantha
Advisor: Dr. Crystal Reynaga
Interests: I am interested in how tendon microstructure in frogs impacts their whole-body performance across different locomotor modes.
Axlid, Erik
eaxli001@ucr.edu
Advisor: Dr. Tim Higham
Interests: Fish biomechanics and functional morphology.
Buckley, Miranda
miranda.buckley@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Louis Santiago
Interests: I study holoparasitic plants, because someone has to. My research focuses on their role in species coexistence and biodiversity, combining ecophysiology and community ecology across lab and field work. I explore dynamics between holoparasites and their hosts in arid landscapes. I’m evaluating their ecological influence with a view to conservation priorities, despite their complete failure to behave like respectable photosynthesizers.
Cabrera, Haley
haley.cabrera@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Ted Garland
Interests: Exercise physiology, evolutionary physiology
Cartee, Marissa
marissa.cartee@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: David Reznick
Interests: Post copulatory sexual selection, sperm storage, Poeciliidae
Caudle, Jackson
jackson.caudle@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Mark S. Springer
Interests: Interested in the in gene loss and how it effects the evolution of complex traits.
Chatterjee, Soumyadeep
schat030@ucr.edu
Advisor: Christopher Clark
Interests: Evolution of vision and color in hummingbirds
Crehan, Sophie
sophie.crehan@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Marko Spasojevic
Interests: Forest community ecology
Cuellar Valencia, Oscar M.
Advisor: Daniel Moen
Interests: Evolution, form and function, taxonomy, frogs
Datta, Poorvi
Advisor: Dr. Gena Sbeglia
Interests: Researching strategies to increase accessibility for students with disabilities in university biology courses using principles of universal design.
Dominguez, Jimena
Advisor: Wendy Saltzman
Interests: Auditory neurophysiology, bioacoustics, animal behavior, sensory plasticity
Firebaugh Ornelas, Ariana
afire001@ucr.edu
Advisor: Marko Spasojevic
Advisor: Loralee Larios
Interests:
Gangothri, Sivaraj
sgang016@ucr.edu
Advisor: Kate Ostevik
Interests: Hybridization and speciation, plant-pollinator interactions, Floral traits, Plant ecology
Gerald-Yamasaki, Cailley
Advisor: Tim Higham
Interests: Biomechanics of marine invertebrates and fish, animal locomotion, comparative physiology
Ghosh, Ria
rghos012@ucr.edu
Advisor: Kurt Anderson
Interests: Freshwater Ecology, Community Ecology. Urban Ecology, Impacts of Anthropogenic stressors in freshwaters
Graver, Nicolas
nicolas.graver@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Helen Regan
Interests: Plant community ecology, aridlands fire ecology/management, climate impacts to desert trees, population modeling
Herbert, Amanda
amanda.herbert@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: David Reznick
Interests: Functional morphology and biomechanics of fish feeding and locomotion
Hernandez Arellano, Tao
thern049@ucr.edu
Advisor: David Reznick
Interests: Taxonomy, Biogeography, Evolution and ecology of fishes.
Ibarra Zea, Marisol
marisol.ibarrazea@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Dr. Daniel Moen
Interests: Evolution of the pelvis in High Runner mice, 3D geometric morphometrics
Jain, Aarul
ajain126@ucr.edu
Advisor: Christopher Clark
Interests: I want to study acoustics and flight biomechanics of hummingbirds.
Lampman, William-Cael
alamp011@ucr.edu
Advisor: Theodore Garland Jr.
Interests: I am interested in the evolution of behavior and personality in social mammalian species! Currently, I study the behavioral profile of High Runner mice selectively bred for voluntary wheel running.
Lay, Conner
connor.lay@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Paul Nabity
Interests: I am interested in how plants interact with their abiotic and biotic environments. Specifically hoping to better understand how environmental changes such as habitat fragmentation and climate variation contribute to genetic diversity and adaptation.
Leung, Elisabeth
Advisor: Ellie Armstrong
Interests: Conservation genomics of the island fox to understand evolutionary dynamics of small population recovery after bottlenecking events
Lin, Harrison
harrison.lin@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Polly Campbell
Interests: Speciation, Reproductive Barriers, Population Genetics
Louden, Sam
sloud003@ucr.edu
Advisor: Loralee Larios
Interests: Community ecology, restoration ecology, plant community assembly, seed predators, synzoochory
Lucas, Gina
gluca001@ucr.edu
Advisor: Kieran Samuk
Interests: Evolution of recombination rate and chromosomal inversions.
Martinez, Tabitha
Advisor: Dr. Christopher Clark
Interests: Ecomorphology of quiet flight in Strigiforms.
Maynard, Emily
emily.maynard@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Christopher Catano
Interests: Bee and plant community ecology, forecasting outcomes of functional community diversity in restored ecosystems, and management for climate resilience.
Neupane, Rajesh
rajesh.neupane@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Kate Ostevik
Interests:
Adaptation, Contemporary Evolution, Crop Wild Relatives, Crop Climate Resiliency
Nguyen, Brittney
brittney.nguyen@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Lucy Delaney
Interests: Macroevolutionary patterns of angiosperm diversification, computational modeling, emotion in student learning and retention
Peterman, Spencer
spencer.peterman@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Joel L Sachs
Interests: Evolutionary ecology, symbiosis, plant-microbe interactions
Plunkett, Dirk
dplun001@ucr.edu
Advisor: Loralee Larios
Interests: Restoration ecology, community ecology, mycorrhizal fungi, soil legacies, plant fungi mutualisms
Reitman, Theodore
theodore.reitman@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Kate Ostevik
Interests: Ecological differentiation, genetic elements, and speciation in sunflowers (Helianthus)
Rivera-Sanchez, Edmarie
Advisor: Dr. Louis Santiago
Interests: Fungal Ecology, Comparative Genomics, Stress Adaptation
Shirazi, Seth
soroush.shirazi@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Tim Higham
Interests: Evolutionary biomechanics, form & function, and genetics.
Silva, Brennan
bsilv008@ucr.edu
Advisor: Kate Ostevik
Interests:
Chromosomal Evolution, Speciation, Hybridization, Reproductive Barriers
Sudoko, Samantha
Advisor: Dr. Alan Brelsford
Interests: How environmental gradients and hybridization shape trait variation and local adaptation across geographic hybrid zones.
Taylor, Sade
Advisor: Dr. Marko Spasojevic
Interests: Forests are major carbon sinks regulated by belowground fungal networks, especially ECM fungi that form mutualistic relationships with plants, aiding in carbon, water, and nutrient exchange. These fungi boost plant growth, soil aggregation, and global carbon storage, with ECM mycelium forming significant carbon pools. Not all ECM fungi are obligate symbiotrophs; many are facultative, switching between symbiotic and saprotrophic lifestyles based on environmental conditions.
Thai, Kevin
kevin.thai001@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Leonard Nunney
Interests: Evolution of cancer suppression.
Tucker, Mary
Advisor: Christopher Clark
Interests: Bird migration, biologgers, MOTUS, desert adaptations
Wallasch, Brooke
Advisor: Dr. Kate Ostevik
Interests: I am interested in alpine ecology and evolution. My project focuses on exploring the intersection between community ecology and genetics by using molecular tools to understand how alpine plant communities are responding to climate change.
Research Interests: Alpine ecology, Community Ecology, Evolution and Global Change Biology
Whitacre, Tyler
tyler.whitacre@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Natalie Holt
Interests: My dissertation work centers around the effect of inertia on muscle contraction dynamics. I use a combination of in-vitro experimental manipulations and computational work to approach this question, ultimately aiming to understand how muscle contraction dynamics change across size and recruitment.
Wong, Jenny
j.wong@email.ucr.edu
Advisor: Christopher Clark
Interests: My dissertation focuses on the mating system of Costa’s Hummingbird and integrates extensive fieldwork with molecular analyses. I explore how direct and indirect benefits shape female mate choice by collecting data on male territorial behavior, phenotypic traits, and genetic samples from both males and nestlings. Through this work, I aim to uncover the traits that drive male reproductive success.
Jenny's Research Website
