POSTDOCTORAL OPPORTUNITY: I am recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to join my lab as soon as January 2025. The postdoc will join a multidisciplinary team on a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) project to support bison producers on rangelands. We seek a candidate with broad interests in stakeholder engagement, informal and nonformal learning practices, and climate adaptation on working lands; a strong quantitative skillset in the social sciences; and excellent organizational and communication skills. The full position description with instructions on how to apply can be found here.
OPPORTUNITIES: My research is designed to incorporate students and to produce work with implications for conservation and learning. I encourage my students to approach their research in a way that provides practical, integrated outcomes. For students interested in mammalian ecology and evolution, opportunities in my lab include answering questions on the relationships between functional traits and environmental variables, morphology and evolutionary history of faunal taxa, and impacts of humans on mammalian communities. For students interested in science learning, opportunities in my lab include answering questions related to the offerings of informal learning institutions and other place-based learning environments as means for effectively increasing environmental stewardship. Students interested in joining my lab should email me a statement of their research interests and goals.
Current People
Alex B. Shupinski is a postdoc who joined the lab in the fall of 2024. She received her PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in paleoecology. She is passionate about using the fossil record to better predict future ecological changes and help inform conservation strategies. Specifically, Dr. Shupinski largely focuses on mammalian dynamics over space and time. She is currently conducting species distribution modeling on Bison to help predict their future habitat suitability across North America with the changing climate.
Charlie Bruce is a PhD student who joined the lab in Fall 2023. He has a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University and a master's degree from East Tennessee State University, where he described a badger from the Gray Fossil Site for his thesis. He is interested in studying small carnivorans and dental ecometrics for his dissertation.
Sarah Gheida is a MS student who joined the lab in Fall 2023. She has a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University and four years of experience working in wildlife management and conservation. Prior to joining the lab, Sarah worked as a Managing Biologist with Hallux Ecosystem Restoration on Kaua‘i to research and remove invasive predators within threatened seabird colonies. Her thesis is now focused on analyzing demographic and morphometric data from the Kaua‘i’s free-roaming cat populations in order to inform management decisions.
Dunya Alshayban is a MS student who joined the lab in spring 2024. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Saudi Arabia in English translation. Dunya is interested in obtaining a leadership position with a non-profit organization or conservation institution that is committed to preserving the environment. She has two kids and wants to help save our natural resources for the benefit of future generations.
Ariel Tonesi is a MS student who joined the lab in Fall 2024. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biological Science with a minor in Geology from UC Davis. During her undergraduate studies, Ariel worked as a Paleontology Monitor in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, before transitioning into museum-based work. Her hands-on experience with Cenozoic fossil resources and her involvement in museums, sparked her interest in pursuing a master's in hopes of learning more about fossil mammal communities, their environmental contexts, and their responses.
|
Former Students
Michael Sketel - recent Georgia Tech graduate
Jadyn Sethna - PhD student at University of North Carolina Minna Wong - Program Manager, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation James Pippin Katherine Pinson - student at University of Texas Dallas Emily O'Dea - Associate Engineer, AuthenticID |
Kyle Brown
Maria Ferraro John Seekins Casey Wilkins - high school teacher Will Harris - Common Descent podcast |