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I have had the privilege of serving as the primary mentor for a number of student projects. From project conceptualization through publication, I aim to foster an environment where students feel supported, empowered, and confident in their growth as independent scientists.
Read below to find out more about some of my students' projects!
Yanileth Lopez Tacoaman
Yanileth Lopez Tacoaman
Yani was a fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and is now a PhD student at Virginia Tech.
She conducted two exciting projects during her time in Panama. The first was on the factors shaping microbiomes of an assemblage of anoles in Panama. The second was focused on seasonal variation in lizard immunity.
Yani collected extensive amounts of field data and generated huge amounts of molecular data for her projects. She used Illumina amplicon sequencing to explore microbiome composition of several species of anoles of Panama, and qPCR to explore seasonal differences in immune gene expression.
She's now working on writing up these projects, and we are currently co-authoring a review paper - keep an eye out for her work, coming soon!
John Nguyen
John Nguyen
John was a fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and is now a PhD student at the University of Houston.
During his time in Panama, John undertook an extensive project focused on understanding female Anole back pattern polymorphisms. He studied both the factors shaping back pattern polymorphisms, as well as their possible function. John used tests of behavior, predation, and selection to understand the forces that generate and maintain this polymorphism as well as Oxford Nanopore Sequencing to explore the genetic basis of the polymorphism.
Keep an eye out for his upcoming manuscript!
Vedanth Vishwanath
Vedanth Vishwanath
Vedanth recently began his senior thesis at the University of Nevada, Reno.
He is using microbiome data along with physiology data and estimates of survival to explore links between the gut microbiome, thermal physiology, and selection in a population of Sceloporus occidentalis. This exciting work is happening in collaboration with an ongoing long-term field project in the Great Basin Desert of Nevada.
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