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This is my personal blog.

Dr. Lizardo, you will be missed by people of the "lizard land" and beyond!!

Two days ago my post doc adviser Prof. Barry Sinervo passed away fighting a few years battle with cancer. He called himself "A simple country lizard doctor or Dr. Lizardo". A great herpetologist, behavioral ecologist who will be remembered for his landmark research on egg size and maternal effects in lizards, "rock-paper- scissors' game" in lizard populations and his recent work on how climate change is driving lizard extinctions across the world- among many other things. This is my humble attempt at capturing what it meant to work with Prof. Barry Sinervo.

I worked as post doc in his lab from 2010 to 2014. But even before that I was associated with the lab for couple of years "learning the ropes", writing grants, teaching courses at UCSC. Those were the transformative years of my academic career- thanks to Barry! These years opened my mind to endless possibilities and opportunities in the academic world.

The first thing one noticed about Barry was his enthusiasm about science- he was full of ideas and always ready to include people in his research in whatever way he could. When I first went to talk to him in 2008 about opportunities in his lab- I had been away from science for couple of years after finishing my PhD. I hated herps (confession!) and was very reluctant to work on reptiles if I ever joined the lab. But I had read his landmark work on rock-paper-scissors' game in lizards and was very much interested in exploring further research related to it. He enthusiastically listened to my ideas and encouraged me to join his lab, write grants without ever asking me for even a reco! At that time he was shifting the focus of his research on climate change and its effects on lizard populations across the world. I started my journey of the lizard world quite nervously. Every time I picked up even a tiny lizard in my hand- I cringed, had nightmares but there was enough time to get used to it. Barry called it "learning the ropes" without judging me for my hesitations. When I was trying to understand their behavior, he would say- "think like a lizard, if you want to understand them". Whenever I went to discuss some idea, explanation, new experiment with him, he was always encouraging. He would not only listen to the idea but would give many more related ideas, resources, connections to think about. I would come back with much enthusiasm, determination, intriguing/ challenging ideas, explanations after 15 minutes of conversation with him. It was an exciting journey of exploration of "lizard land".

He gave almost unlimited freedom to people in his lab to explore their ideas, try out different approaches, techniques to get their work done. There was very little interference or hand-holding. It was sometimes frustrating to figure out everything on my own, but I think it allowed tremendous personal growth and gave one confidence for doing "independent" research. It allowed me to learn through direct experience what doing research meant- it's not just about designing experiments and collecting data but also about getting and managing funds, running a lab, networking with peers, working with undergrads, graduate students, citizen scientists, building collaborations, communicating your research, being inclusive about who gets to participate in exciting research! He actively built collaborations across the globe for the climate change project, trained numerous students and faculty, even school teachers and children to gather meaningful data. He genuinely wanted people- even lay persons- to be part of his research and understand the effects of climate change through their own experiences of data collection!

Barry was never insecure about sharing his data, equipment, ideas- which seems to be a rare thing in academic world that most of us researchers have experienced. Another rare trait he had was- he never completely depended on his students, postdocs, collaborators for data gathering- I think till end he was as enthusiastic and keen about going on field and "getting his hands dirty" as he was at the beginning of his career! I have seen many senior faculty loosing touch with data collection and "on ground" work eventually, which leads to many issues in academic world. This is not a place and time to discuss those issues. But Barry was the happiest when he was on field with his beloved lizards- he said as much!

Barry- just being himself- has inspired many students, post docs and collaborators across the world. I feel lucky to have worked with him for few years. The lessons I learned -directly or indirectly from being in his lab- have played a vital role in my journey after post doc.

It's hard to speak about him in past tense. The herp world has lost a great researcher- Dr. Lizardo you will be missed by people of the "lizard land" and beyond!!

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