Lab Members

Current Lab Members

Graduate Students

Malia Mosser

Malia is studying the impacts of human activity on urban wildlife populations during and after the COVID-19 work-from-home era.

Undergraduate Students

Sarah Borja-Gomez

Sarah is a general biology major and joined the lab in fall 2024. She is currently investigating pika population genetics and diet. While being part of the lab, Sarah has been learning new skills every day and admires the methods of developing data. So far, she had been working with microsatellites, DNA preparation, data entry, and collecting samples during field work trips.

Alyne Duong

Alyne Duong is a Biological Sciences Major with a Minor in Chemistry. She joined the lab in Fall 2024 and is working as a Molecular Lab Technician. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, working out, and baking. 

Kaitlyn Lynch

Kait is currently working on our Pika Diet and Competition study.

Caitlin Salvador

Caitlin is a Biological Sciences major and is currently a sophomore at SJSU. She joined the lab in Fall 2024 and is currently working on data analysis for the Urban Wildlife project. Outside of the lab, Caitlin likes to go thrifting, attend concerts, and volunteer.

Jay Tombac

Jay is currently working on our new CSU Sentinel Site Network Project.

Lab Alumni

Graduate Students

Undergraduate Students

Brigitte Scott

Giovanni Quezada

Giovanni is a Biology Major with a concentration in Molecular Biology and a Minor in Chemistry. He joined the lab in Fall 2021 and focuses on grinding plant samples for DNA extractions. The lab experienced gained helped Giovanni get accepted into the McNair Scholarship Program and begin his own research. Outside the lab, Giovanni likes to work on his research, read and go on hikes. 

Muhammad Rashid

Muhammad is currently a senior at San Jose State completing a degree in General Biology with a minor in Professional and Technical Writing. His primary research interest is molecular techniques and he actively participates in extraction, PCR, and post-PCR processing and quantification in the lab. He hopes to use the next-generation sequencing and metabarcoding techniques learned to increase our understanding of the bacteria that cause oral and systemic diseases. Outside of the lab, he is passionate about religion, volunteering, snowboarding, and cooking.

Stephanie Thang

Stephanie is a Biology Major with a concentration in Microbiology. She joined the lab in Spring 2021 and focuses on the plant diversity of the Northwest Nevada and Southeast Sierra Nevada mountain regions as it pertains to American pika diets. Outside the lab, Stephanie enjoys painting and taking care of her cats.

Neha Guru

Salvador Martinez

Salvador is a general Biology Major with a Minor in Public Health.  He joined the lab in Fall 2021.  He is investigating plant DNA to identify the plants collected to further understand the diet of specific pika populations of different regions with distinct vegetation.  With the experience in our lab, Salvador was able to secure a year-round internship at Sandia National Laboratories in their R&D Systems Biology department. 

Cecilia Rios Del Rio

Cecilia is a Biology Major with a concentration in Microbiology. She joined the lab in Fall 2021 and is focusing on the grinding plant samples for DNA extraction. Outside the lab, Cecilia likes to read, start new crochet projects and has three dogs whom she enjoys walking to parks. 

Yvonne Luong

Yvonne joined the lab in Fall 2020. She is a Biology major with a concentration in Ecology & Evolution and she is interested in Wildlife Conservation Biology. 

Monica Villaseñor

Monica is a Biology Major with a concentration in Ecology & Evolution. She joined the lab Summer 2019. She is working on population genetics of American pikas in the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin.

Yvonne Luong

Yvonne joined the lab in Fall 2020. She is a Biology major with a concentration in Ecology & Evolution and she is interested in Wildlife Conservation Biology. 

Monica Villaseñor

Monica is a Biology Major with a concentration in Ecology & Evolution. She joined the lab Summer 2019. She is working on population genetics of American pikas in the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin.

Theodore Tran

Theodore was a Biology Major with a concentration in Marine Biology. He joined the lab in Spring 2019. He is currently a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz.

Kelcey Brown-Meacham

Kelcey is a Biology Major with a concentration in Marine Biology. She joined the lab in Spring 2019. She is investigating the relationship between American pika morphology and environmental factors, including climate and vegetation. To accomplish this, she is combining natural history museum specimen data with remotely sensed climate data.

Brent Alvey

Brent is a Biology Major with a concentration in Ecology & Evolution. He joined the lab in Fall 2019. Brent is working on the Urban Ecology of San Jose State University, with a focus on tree squirrels (Sciurus sp.)

Athena Tani

Athena was a lab member in Fall 2019. She investigated the contact zone between two American Pika subspecies in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO.

Kenny Makmuri

Kenny was a lab member in AY19-20. He investigated the contact zone between two American Pika subspecies in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO.