School of
Integrative Biology
Graduate Students
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Adaime, Marc-Elie |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Development of phylogenetically-informed computer vision methods for fossil pollen recognition and the study of long-term trends in plant evolution. Advisor: Surangi W. Punyasena |
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Antonson, Nicholas |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Behavioral ecology, avian brood parasitism, coevolution, and the effect of parental care on brood parasites Advisor: Mark E Hauber |
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Arceneaux, Miles |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Ecological and behavioral plant-insect interactions of pest species and how to combat against the damage they cause Advisor: Esther Ngumbi |
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Barley, Tristan |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Behavioral effects of competition between native bees and honeybees Advisor: Adam G Dolezal |
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Basnet, Vinisha |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Advisor: Daniel Schneider |
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Behrens, Colby |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Examining genetic mechanisms influencing behavior in three-spined stickleback fish Advisor: Alison Bell |
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Bello, Lizzie |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Bioinspired design and materials Advisor: Marianne Alleyne |
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Benjamin, Neal |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Swine veterinarian interested in the links between population genetics and health outcomes in pigs; diversity of immune system alleles among wild, domesticated, and intensively bred suids (advisor: Al Roca) Advisor: Alfred Roca |
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Beuchat, Gabriel |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Li-Qing Chen |
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Brockelsby, Kasey |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Speciation dynamics and evolutionary morphology; sexual dimorphism in unpaired fins in fish Advisor: Becky Fuller |
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Brown, Morgan |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Leafhopper biodiversity and conservation Advisor: Christopher Dietrich |
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Bush, Daniel |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Navel orangeworm's relationship with Aspergillus mold Advisor: May Berenbaum |
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Capel, Samantha |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Advisor: Ken N. Paige |
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Carroll, Xavier |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Advisor: Marianne Alleyne |
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Chabain, Jules |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Former paleontologist puzzled by animal weaponery and the linkage between shape, function and performance; using biomechanics, ct-scanned data, and comparative anatomy Advisor: Philip S L Anderson |
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Chakraborty, Sulagna |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Vector-borne diseases and epidemiology of infectious diseases, focusing on the eco-epidemiology of a tick-borne disease in India called Kyasanur Forest Disease. I want to combine my interest in infectious disease with my background in public health and microbiology as well as use One Health approaches towards disease control and prevention. (advisor: Brian Allan) Advisor: Brian Allan |
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Chamberlain, Mac |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Behavioral ecology, species recognition, and avian brood parasitism Advisor: Mark E Hauber |
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Chiavini, Benjamin |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Study of small hive beetles in their life cycle, physiology, and behaviors in relation to honey bees and viruses/diseases Advisor: Adam G Dolezal |
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Chu, Gillian |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Intersection of computer science and evolution; improving upstream bioinformatics methods by incorporating evolutionary history (advisor: Tandy Warnow) Advisor: Tandy Warnow |
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Coburn, Kat |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Prairie restoration/conservation strategies and their effects on habitat quality and native pollinator community ecology Advisor: Alex Harmon-Threatt |
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Coulter, Austin |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Advisor: Anna Kukekova |
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Cox, Maria |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Paleogenomic analysis of immune change and function, as well as molecular identification of pathogens; particularly, how genes associated with immune function change through time, especially in populations undergoing long term stress (advisor: Ripan Malhi) Advisor: Ripan Malhi |
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Crawford, Reed |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Thermoregulatory behavior and artificial roost selection of bats (advisor: Joy O'Keefe) Advisor: Joy O'Keefe |
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Cucalon Tamayo, Roberto |
Graduate Student -
PEEC How populations of species are evolutionarily related, and how their evolutionary history and biogeographic patterns can help us explain our current world (advisor: Milton Tan) Advisor: Milton Tan |
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Cullum, Jeannette |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Environmental drivers of infectious disease in Daphnia (advisor: Carla Cáceres) Advisor: Carla Cáceres |
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Curtis, Amanda
amandac3@illinois.edu |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Use environmental DNA (eDNA) as a tool for aquatic conservation (advisor: Eric Larson) Advisor: Eric Larson |
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D'Alessio, Lorenzo M.
lmd2@illinois.edu |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Cophylogenetics of ectoparasitic feather lice in the genus Brueelia and their endosymbionts (advisor: Kevin Johnson) Advisor: Kevin Johnson |
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Dai, Qihong |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Fish ecology and biology; modeling (advisor: Cory Suski) Advisor: Cory Suski |
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Dana, Catherine |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Cicada conservation and natural history Advisor: Sam Heads |
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Darcy, Hannah |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Morphology of the salamander skull, comparative biomechanics of feePding in land-to-water transitions, and biological material properties Advisor: Philip S L Anderson |
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De Becker, Elsa |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Stephen Long |
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De Silva, Kithmee |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Matthew D. Brooks |
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Drager, Kim |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Nest architecture of soil dwelling ants (both ancient and modern) and how nest structure varies between ant species and geological environments Advisor: Andrew V. Suarez |
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Edwards, Joseph |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Perturbations of a forest nitrogen economy and its associated microbial community by invasive Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) Advisor: Wendy H. Yang |
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Fauziyah, Siti |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Biomechanics of insect wings Advisor: Marianne Alleyne |
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Feng, Jennifer |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Deep learning for pollen analysis, paleo-ENSO variability, historical ecology, Holocene land use and land cover change, landscape archaeology Advisor: Surangi W. Punyasena |
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Fernandez-Duque, Facundo |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Social dynamics, behavioral ecology, parent-offspring relationships, functional neurogenomics, mating strategies, phenotypic plasticity, decision making (advisor: Mark Hauber) Advisor: Mark E Hauber |
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Flores, Manuel |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: James Dalling |
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Friedmann, Caroline |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Mark Lara |
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Fu, Jie |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Amy Marshall-Colon Advisor: Amy Marshall-Colon |
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Goertz, Isaiah |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Analysis of the evolution of pathogenicity of bacteria and viruses, resulting from differing environmental impacts and factors (advisor: Rachel Whitaker) Advisor: Rachel Whitaker |
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Graves, Brian |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Genetic changes over time in hominins and organisms impacted by their spread (advisor: Ripan Malhi) Advisor: Ripan Malhi |
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Griesbaum, Karla |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Katy Heath |
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Hardin, Faith |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior The neurological, hormonal, and evolutionary mechanisms behind parental care in the coqui frog Advisor: Eva K. Fischer |
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Hearon, Luke |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Predator-prey dynamics in mosquito communities Advisor: Carla Cáceres |
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Hogan, Phillip |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Identification of distribution patterns for both the historic and contemporaneous Midwest stonefly fauna using distributional modeling techniques Advisor: Ed DeWalt |
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Hsieh, Edward |
Graduate Student -
Entomology The properties of phytochemicals in honeybee honey and general honeybee behavior Advisor: Adam G Dolezal |
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Hyde, Charles |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Plant-soil microbial interactions: the effects of bioenergy crop root exudation on microbial communities in agricultural soils (advisor: Wendy Yang) Advisor: Wendy H. Yang |
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Jehn, Julia |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Plant ecology and physiology Advisor: Ken N. Paige |
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Jones, Cody |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Looking at the interplay between overcompensation and endoreduplication, specifically in the model system, soybean Advisor: Ken N. Paige |
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Jones, Lance |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Systematics of flowering plants and insects, especially Apiaceae (the carrot or parsley family) and Diptera (the true flies); with emphasis on monographic taxonomy and the description of new species; also understanding the evolutionary relationships and ecology of these groups Advisor: Stephen R. Downie |
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Jops, Kenny |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Mathematical and modelling approaches to ecological theory including community assemblage and plant competitive interactions. Advisor: James O'Dwyer |
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Karakehian, Jason |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology The systematics, biology and ecology of woody tissue-inhabiting, non-lichenized fungi in class Leotiomycetes (Ascomycota), with a special focus on taxa in orders Rhytismatales and Marthamycetales Advisor: Andrew Miller |
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Karatgi, Ratna |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Sexual selection: Intrasexual competition, mate choice, signalling and signal evolution (advisor: Becky Fuller) Advisor: Becky Fuller |
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Kwafo, Seldon |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Justin McGrath |
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Lakeram, Scott |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Interactions of arthropods and early plants during the Pennsylvanian period. |
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Lawson, Shelby |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Behavioral ecology, breeding strategies, mate choice, vocal communication/perception in birds Advisor: Mark E Hauber |
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Long, Kira
kira2@illinois.edu |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Investigating the supposedly stable hybrid zone of two manakin species in Panama; examining the effects of sexual and natural selection on hybrids and parental species (advisor: Jeff Brawn) Advisor: Jeffrey Brawn |
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Maciejewski, Meghan |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Behavioral ecology, parental care, social evolution Advisor: Alison Bell |
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Madrigal, Giovanni |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Evolutionary genetics/genomics and bioinformatics Advisor: Julian Catchen |
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Martin, Duncan |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Interactive effects of drought and ozone sress on crop physiology and biochemistry Advisor: Elizabeth "Lisa" Ainsworth |
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Mayfield-Jones, Dustin |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Andrew D.B. Leakey |
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McClellan, Taylor |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Tropical forest ecology and seed dynamics (advisor: James Dalling) Advisor: James Dalling |
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McFarland, Derek |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Ecology of tick-borne pathogens and the wildlife populations they infect within the context of climate change and human encroachment (advisor: Brian Allan) Advisor: Brian Allan |
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Mleziva, Aaron |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Plant-insect chemical interaction Advisor: Esther Ngumbi |
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Moorhead, Kaitlin |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Investigating health in free-ranging Blanding’s turtles using novel diagnostics and statistical modeling (advisor: Matt Allender) |
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Murphree, Maggie |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Emergent behavior, division of labor, and social networks of honey bee colonies Advisor: Gene Robinson |
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Neumann, Kevin |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Behavioral ecology, genomics, and plasticity in social animals (advisors: Alison Bell and Andrew Suarez) Advisor: Alison Bell |
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Noel, Kylee |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Genetic and physiological effects of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes; scientific outreach to the community to encourage citizen science Advisor: Chris Stone |
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Ooi, Sean |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Biogeochemistry and microbial ecology of nitrous oxide production and consumption in soils (advisor: Wendy Yang) Advisor: Wendy H. Yang |
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Osterhout, Bram |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Gene regulation in sorghum and metabolic modeling of wheat Advisor: Amy Marshall-Colon |
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Otolski, Lauren |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Tropical ecology, fungal-plant interactions, and microbial community assembly (advisor: James Dalling) Advisor: James Dalling |
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Pagaldevatti, Sumashini |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Tropical forest ecology, plant-animal-fungal interactions, seed ecology Advisor: James Dalling |
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Paul, Robert |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Modeling terrestrial biogeochemistry of different land uses in the Midwest; quantifying ecosystem services of multi-use landscapes; resolving environmental impacts of second-generation bioenergy agriculture Advisor: Evan H. DeLucia |
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Quebedeaux, Jennifer |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Genetic Control of Carbon Metabolism and Water Use Efficiency as Targets to Improve Photosynthesis and Crop Yield Advisor: Andrew D.B. Leakey |
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Rayamajhi, Niraj |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Population genomics of natural populations and computational biology Advisor: Julian Catchen |
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Ricks, Kevin |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Microbial community and evolutionary ecology, evolution of symbiosis (advisor: Anthony Yannarell) Advisor: Anthony Yannarell |
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Rivera, Michael |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Ecological and evolutionary drivers of morphological variation in social insect workers (advisor: Andy Suarez) Advisor: Andrew V. Suarez |
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Rivera-Colón, Angel |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Genomics, genome evolution Advisor: Julian Catchen |
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Saboowala, Sana |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Using a multidisciplinary approach to study the ways in which trauma is physically embodied and inherited, focusing on potential epigenetic effects of border creation during the 1947 Partition of South Asia using molecular methods and oral histories (advisor: Ripan Malhi) Advisor: Ripan Malhi |
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Sani, Daniel Eneji |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Interactive effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone stress on crop quality Advisor: Justin McGrath |
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Sawyer, Elle |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Understanding the spread and impact of invasive species, particularly Rusty Crayfish (advisor: Eric Larson) Advisor: Eric Larson |
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Scharf, Hannah |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Behavioral ecology, social and mating systems, avian brood parasitism Advisor: Mark E Hauber |
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Schore, Aiden Isaac Gittler |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Examining interactions between climate, disturbances, and the physical environment across the Alaskan tundra via analysis of permafrost degradation, tall shrub expansion, and biological feedback effects Advisor: Mark Lara |
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Scott, Bradley |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Early evolution of vertebrates, specifically the changes in feeding and locomotion associated with the transition from jawless to jawed vertebrates. I seek to understand these changes using paleontology, functional morphology, and biomechanics Advisor: Philip S L Anderson |
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Singh, Dilkaran |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Amy Marshall-Colon Advisor: Amy Marshall-Colon |
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Singh, Simran |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Focused on using deep learning algorithms to discover biomarkers of auditory cortex by integrating histology and ultra-high field imaging Advisor: Daniel J Miller |
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Song, Jinjin |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Ray Ming |
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Soto, Katharina |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Behavioral and conservation biology and evolution (advisor: Eva Fischer) Advisor: Eva K. Fischer |
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Strailey, Katherine |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Ecology, physiology, and conservation of freshwater fishes (advisors: Cory Suski and Piotr Cienciala) Advisor: Cory Suski |
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Stuart, Sarai |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Evolution of social life and mechanisms that underpin behaviors in the colony environment (advisor: Gene Robinson) Advisor: Gene Robinson |
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Surber, Lisa |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Behavioral ecology, evolution, and phenotypic plasticity in Neotropical poison frogs Advisor: Eva K. Fischer |
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Suresh, Sreelakshmi |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Foraging behavior of honey bees in agricultural systems Advisor: Adam G Dolezal |
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Sutton, Nicholas |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Modeling decision-making processes during predator-prey encounters, with a focus on optimal escape strategies in ungulates (advisor: James O'Dwyer) Advisor: James O'Dwyer |
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Swanson, Daniel |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Systematics of assassin bugs Advisor: Sam Heads |
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Tamarri, Jacob |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Paleoenvironments and the roles plants and insects play in them; primarily comparing ancient insects to contemporary ones, with a focus on hymenopterans Advisor: Sam Heads |
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Tan, Grace |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Plant biology, specifically water-use efficiency and photosynthetic efficiency relative to sustainable agriculture (advisor: Andrew Leakey) Advisor: Andrew D.B. Leakey |
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Taylor, Lincoln |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Interactions between honey bees and their pathogens, in particular honey bee behavior Advisor: Adam G Dolezal |
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Terrill, Emily |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Physiological and genomic mechanisms that underpin behavior in neotropical poison frogs Advisor: Eva K. Fischer |
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Tetlie, Jonathan |
Graduate Student -
Entomology The lingering impact of agricultural practices on habitat restoration efforts of prairies and their effect on native bee communities Advisor: Alex Harmon-Threatt |
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Thomas, M. Jared |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Paleoentomology with emphasis on Tetrigidae (pygmy grasshoppers) Advisor: Sam Heads |
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Turner, Abbi |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Evolution, mate choice, parental care, brood parasitism, and birds Advisor: Mark E Hauber |
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Virrueta Herrera, Stephany |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Ornithology and phylogentics, specifically the evolutionary patterns between birds and their parasitic feather lice (advisor: Kevin Johnson). Advisor: Kevin Johnson |
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Wargin, Annaliese |
Graduate Student -
Entomology The ecology of native pollinators in restored landscapes; insect behavioral responses to abiotic change Advisor: Alex Harmon-Threatt |
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Weber, Abby |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Puncture tool biomechanics Advisor: Philip S L Anderson |
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Williams, Cariad |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Wide range of research interests within palaeontology including biomechanics of vertebrates, exceptional preservation of arthropods and taphonomic processes within the fossil record Advisor: Sam Heads |
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Wilson, Patrick |
Graduate Student -
Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Disease ecology and host-parasite coevolution in Daphnia Advisor: Carla Cáceres |
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Wilson, Sara |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Mosquito feeding behavior and control Advisor: Chris Stone |
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Winnicki, Sarah |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Avian growth and development, parental care behavior, and brood parasitism (advisors: TJ Benson and Mark Hauber) Advisor: Thomas Benson |
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Wu, Wen-Yen |
Graduate Student -
Entomology Chemical ecology of insects Advisor: May Berenbaum |
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Zackery, Fahren |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Applying the dilution effect to the field of human microbiome research in order to determine if microbial diversity correlates with human health outcomes (advisor: Brian Allan) Advisor: Brian Allan |
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Zeitzer, Ilana |
Graduate Student -
PEEC Plant ecology and plant-fungal mutualistic interaction (advisor: Jennifer Fraterrigo) Advisor: Jennifer Fraterrigo |
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Zhang, Chen |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Li-Qing Chen |
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Zhang, Xiaodan |
Graduate Student -
Plant Biology Advisor: Ray Ming |