I am currently Dr. Dahiana Arcila's Ph.D. student at the University of Oklahoma. My dissertation research focuses on evolutionary relationships and morphological adaptations in deep-sea fishes, specifically in the orders Lophiiformes and Tetraodontiformes.

My first chapter focuses on convergent snout elongation in spikefishes (Tetraodontiformes: Triacanthodidae) using both whole-genome resequencing (WGRS) and CT-scan data.

My second chapter will focus on the origins of both intrinsic and bacterially mediated bioluminescence in Lophiiform fishes using exon-capture data. Once I have a high-quality phylogenetic inference, I will then be able to use it to address questions of morphological adaptations (i.e. body shape/size).

My third chapter will integrate fossil and extant species of Lophiiform fishes to generate a morphological matrix that will allow for more finely tuned dating methods for this order of fishes.

Previously (July 2020), I completed my M.S. degree under the advisement of Dr. Kyle Piller at Southeastern Louisiana University. For my master's research, I focused on phylogenetics and species delimitation within a genus of freshwater live-bearers. The bulk of my research used ddRADseq analyses to collect SNPs throughout the genome of members of Poeciliopsis and then analyze the results using programs on an HPC.