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EEB Graduate Students
This is a listing of the current graduate students in the EEB Department. Please contact Kathy Tebo to report inaccuracies or omissions.
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Augyte, Simona (Doctoral Student)
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Office: TLS 83
Phone: (860) 486-4372
E-mail: simona.augyte@uconn.edu
Yarish Lab
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My background is in marine macroalgal biodiversity, biogeography and ecology. Current dissertation research is on applied phycology, specifically sustainable seaweed aquaculture and nutrient
bioextraction. |
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Bernot, James (Masters Student)
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Office: TLS 478
Phone: (860) 486-1882
E-mail: james.bernot@uconn.edu
Caira Lab
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Host-parasite relationships; taxonomy, systematics, and evolution of elasmobranch tapeworms and their hosts. |
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Borowske, Alyssa (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 310A
Phone: (860) 486-3005
E-mail: alyssa.borowske@uconn.edu
Elphick Lab
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Ecology, behavior, and conservation of migratory songbirds; influences of life history characteristics and seasonality on causes and consequences of habitat selection and use; saltmarsh (Ammodramus caudacutus) and seaside (Ammodramus maritimus) sparrows on their breeding and wintering grounds |
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Boukili, Vanessa (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 219
Phone: (860) 486-0805
E-mail: vanessa.boukili@uconn.edu
Chazdon Lab
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Secondary forest regeneration; Neotropical forests; Plant physiology and functional traits; Community ecology. My research will explore the link between plant functional traits and community composition in the neotropics. |
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Brown, Holly (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 402
Phone: (860) 486-0309
E-mail: holly.k.brown@uconn.edu
Rubega Lab
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Ecology of long-legged wading birds, especially in urban areas; conservation biology; urban science education. |
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Bueno, Veronica (Doctoral Student)
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Office: TLS 478
Phone: (860) 486-1882
E-mail: veronica.m.bueno@uconn.edu
Caira Lab
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Taxonomy, Systematics and Biogeography of Eucestoda parasites and their elasmobranch hosts. Investigation of co-evolutionary patterns using both morphological and molecular data. |
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Burgio, Kevin (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 402
Phone: (860) 486-3839
E-mail: kevin.burgio@uconn.edu
Rubega Lab
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Evidence-based conservation biology; avian behavior, especially the Psitticidae family; invasive species; human/wildlife interactions; ecological modeling. |
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Carlson, Colin (Masters Student)
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Office: TLS 363
Phone: (860) 486-4638
E-mail: colin.carlson@uconn.edu
Schlichting Lab
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Plant conservation biology and population ecology; species distribution modeling; functional ecology of phenotypic plasticity in South African Pelargoniums; traditional ecological knowledge. |
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Chen, Wen (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 204
Phone: (860) 486-4458
E-mail: wen.chen@uconn.edu
Adams Lab
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Invasion biology on a New England invasive ant species: Myrmica rubra. Currently working on species distribution models on different geographical scales, phylogeographic studies, colony structures of this species. |
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Cisneros, Laura (Doctoral Student)
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Office: CESE 187 Bldg 4 Annex
Phone: (860) 486-1772
E-mail: laura.cisneros@uconn.edu
Willig Lab
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Community Ecology; Metacommunity Ecology; Landscape Ecology; Animal-Plant Interactions; Impacts of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Wildlife; Neotropical Mammals. |
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Divino, Jeffrey (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 210A
Phone: (860) 486-4694
E-mail: jeffrey.divino@uconn.edu
Schultz Lab
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Ecophysiology of threespine sticklebacks: patterns and mechanisms of divergence in osmoregulatory capacity among populations living in different salinities. |
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Durant, Kathryne (BS/MS Student)
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Office:
Phone:
E-mail: kathryne.durant@uconn.edu
Willig Lab
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Conservation biology; Behavioral ecology; Environmental protection; I have done previous research studying crustacean reproduction and physiology; I am currently doing research studying reproduction in phyllostomid bats. |
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Field, Christopher (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 310
Phone: (860) 486-3005
E-mail: christopher.field@huskymail.uconn.edu
Elphick Lab
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Population biology of salt marsh birds; evidence-based conservation biology; systematic reserve design; ecological modeling, especially using Bayesian methods; evidence-based science communication. |
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Fisher, Cera (Doctoral Student)
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Office: PBB 318
Phone: (860) 486-6215
E-mail: cera.lawrence@uconn.edu
Jockusch Lab
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Evo-devo and gene regulation; evolution of insect morphology, especially prothoracic projections; metamorphosis. Also interested in bioinformatics and next generation sequencing. I'm currently working on small scale RNAi projects in Tribolium castaneum, the red flour beetle, and aspire to apply this and other techniques to understanding the development of the pronotum structures of treehoppers (Hemiptera, Membracidae). |
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Frank, Andrew (Doctoral Student)
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Office:
Phone: (860) 486-xxxx
E-mail:
Jockusch Lab
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Goemans, Geert (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 323
Phone: (860) 486-3947
E-mail: geert.goemans@uconn.edu
Simon Lab
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Taxonomy, Systematics, Phylogeny, Biodiversity and Biogeography of the cicada tribe Zammarini. My dissertation research aims to combine morphological, molecular, behavioral, acoustic and biogeographic data to make a monograph of the Neotropical tribe Zammarini. I will also produce (digital) identification keys for male and female specimens that should work both for experts and 'amateurs'. |
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Golden, Heidi (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 211
Phone: (860) 486-6154
E-mail: heidi.golden@uconn.edu
Urban Lab
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Metapopulation dynamics, population genetics and trophic interactions of Arctic freshwater fish. |
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Goyes Vallejos, Johana (Doctoral Student)
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Office: TLS 379
Phone: (860) 486-5434
E-mail: johana.goyes-vallejos@uconn.edu
K. Wells Lab
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Behavioral ecology and evolution: sexual selection, animal communication,
mate choice and predation risk in vertebrates, particularly amphibians. |
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Hall, Ryan (BS/MS Student)
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Office:
Phone:
E-mail: ryan.hall@uconn.edu
Schwenk Lab
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Ornithology; Aviculture; Conservation biology; I am interested in behavior, reproduction and conservation of avian species through captive breeding programs and research. |
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Herrick, Susan (Doctoral Student and Instructor in Residence)
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Office: TLS 470
Phone: (860) 486-5662
E-mail: susan.herrick@uconn.edu
K. Wells Lab
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Behavioral ecology and herpetology, particularly interested in social behavior and interspecific interactions. Currently working on spatial and acoustic interactions between breeding ranid frogs. |
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Kilroy Mollmann, Hayley (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 223
Phone: (860) 486-4157
E-mail: hayley.kilroy@uconn.edu
Silander Lab
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Plant community ecology, functional ecology, and landscape ecology. Specifically, I am interested in species' distribution/abundance patterns in response to shifting and dynamic climate patterns and human alterations of the landscape. I am currently working on functional traits and dispersal models of plants in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. |
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King, Ursula (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 317A
Phone: (860) 486-3937
E-mail: ursula.m.king@uconn.edu
Les Lab
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Population genetics and phylogenomics: Using Next Generation sequencing, my dissertation research aims to develop microsatellite markers for a freshwater annual plant, Najas flexilis and additionally, to conduct a chloroplast genome comparison between major clades in the genus Najas. |
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Klingbeil, Brian (Doctoral Student)
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Office: CESE 187 Bldg 4 Annex
Phone: (860) 486-1772
E-mail: brian.klingbeil@uconn.edu
Willig Lab
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Landscape ecology, biodiversity monitoring and conservation, effects of landscape structure on population, community, and metacommunity dynamics of bats and birds. |
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Lewis, Lily (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 312A
Phone: (860) 486-6306
E-mail: lily.lewis@uconn.edu
Goffinet Lab
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Population genetics and phylogeny of the dung moss genus Tetraplodon. |
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Meister, Russell (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 323
Phone: (860) 486-3947
E-mail: russell.meister@uconn.edu
Simon Lab
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Phylogeny, Systematics, and Coevolution of cicadas and their gut endosymbionts. Also I will also focus on the isolation of bacterial proteins from these symbionts in order to study their function. I also am interested in DNA barcoding. |
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Mickley, James (Doctoral Student)
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Office: TLS 363
Phone: (860) 486-4638
E-mail: james.mickley@uconn.edu
Schlichting Lab
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Botany, fire ecology, invasion dynamics, seed banks, modeling, databases and information management, floral selection and the evolutionary significance of merosity in angiosperms. |
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Mitchell, Nora (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 302
Phone: (860) 486-5731
E-mail: nora.mitchell@uconn.edu
Holsinger Lab
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Evolutionary ecology, genetics of the South African Protea (sugarbushes). |
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Mocko, Kerri (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 400A
Phone: (860) 486-4027
E-mail: kerri.mocko@uconn.edu
Jones Lab
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Evolution of form and function in vascular plants; leaf traits; South African plants and specifically the genus Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). |
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Moore, Tim (Doctoral Student)
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Office: TLS 363A
Phone: (860) 486-4638
E-mail: timothy.e.moore@uconn.edu
Schlichting Lab
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Plant molecular systematics; primarily in its application to questions of adaptation and understanding of the processes that drive inter- and intraspecific variation in functional attributes, as well as the implications these processes may have for ecology and evolution. Focusing on the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. |
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Rack, Jessica (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 211
Phone: (860) 486-6154
E-mail: jessica.rack@uconn.edu
Urban Lab
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Predator-prey chemical signaling in amphibians; coevolution; differences in behavioral responses to chemical cues on a spatial scale. |
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Ray, Dustin (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 400A
Phone: (860) 486-4027
E-mail: dustin.ray@uconn.edu
Jones Lab
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Evolution of form and function in vascular plants; stem anatomy; water relations; South African plants, specifically the genus Pelargonium (Geraniaceae) |
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Razyfard, Hamid (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 319
Phone: (860) 486-3937
E-mail: hamid.razyfard@uconn.edu
Les Lab
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Angiosperm systematics, phylogeny, and population genetics; particularly
in Elatine L. (Elatinaceae), a genus of aquatic herbs. |
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Rico Guevara, Alejandro (Doctoral Student)
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Office: Pharmacy/Biology 404
Phone: (860) 486-0309
E-mail: a.rico@uconn.edu
Rubega Lab
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My investigation is aimed at solving questions pertaining to the link between feeding mechanisms and social systems of tropical nectarivores. Currently I have three research lines: sexually-dimorphic weapons, biophysical modeling of nectar intake, and evolutionary convergences on nectarivorous birds' feeding mechanisms including related morphological traits. |
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Ryerson, William (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 412
Phone: (860) 486-4158
E-mail: william.ryerson@uconn.edu
Schwenk Lab
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Vertebrate morphology, physiology and biomechanics, particularly the form and function of animal movement, and how these principles change through ontgony and evolution. |
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Sandor, Manette (Masters Student)
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Office: BioPharm 219A
Phone: (860) 486-7955
E-mail: manette.sandor@uconn.edu
Chazdon Lab
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Community ecology of tropical tree communities; secondary forest regeneration; Neotropical forests; biodiversity. |
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Shaw, Katherine (Doctoral Student)
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Office: TLS 364
Phone: (860) 486-4638
E-mail: katherine.shaw@uconn.edu
Schlichting Lab
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Phenotypic plasticity, behavioral ecology and mating systems -- more specifically, behavioral and color plasticity related to alternative mating tactics and geographic variation in behavior of the Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). |
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Shelly, Emma (Doctoral Student)
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Office:
Phone: (860) 486-xxxx
E-mail:
Elphick Lab
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Sjodin, Anna (Doctoral Student)
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Office:
Phone: (860) 486-xxxx
E-mail:
Willig Lab
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Smircich, Michael (Masters Student)
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Office: BioPharm 310
Phone: (860) 486-4694
E-mail:
Schultz Lab
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Smith, Frank (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 322A
Phone: (860) 486-6215
E-mail: frank.smith@uconn.edu
Jockusch Lab
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The evolution and development of appendages and other body plan components of the super-phylum Panarthropoda. I have adopted a comparative approach using the flour beetles Tribolium castaneum, T. confusum, T. brevicornis, and Latheticus oryzae, and the tardigrade Hypsibius dujardini for my investigations |
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Sustaita, Diego (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 402
Phone: (860) 486-0309
E-mail: diego.sustaita@uconn.edu
Rubega Lab
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Functional morphology and biomechanics of feeding in predatory birds -
specifically raptors and shrikes - and the role of performance in linking
morphology to feeding ecology. |
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Tardif, Kelly (BS/MS Student)
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Office: BioPharm 402
Phone: (860) 486-3839
E-mail: kelly.tardif@uconn.edu
Rubega Lab
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Animal behavior in captive environments, particularly mammals, and the use of research and captive breeding to manage endangered species. |
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Velotta, Jonathan (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 210
Phone: (860) 486-4694
E-mail: jonathan.velotta@uconn.edu
Schultz Lab
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Microevolution and ontogeny of the osmoregulatory system in an anadromous shad known as the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus). |
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Wade, Elizabeth (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 323A
Phone: (860) 486-3947
E-mail: elizabeth.wade@uconn.edu
Simon Lab
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Speciation, adaptive radiation and hybridization in the New Zealand cicada genus Kikihia. |
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Woods, Ellen (Masters Student)
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Office:
Phone: (860) 486-xxxx
E-mail:
Holsinger Lab
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Xie, Yingying (Doctoral Student)
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Office: BioPharm 223A
Phone: (860) 486-4157
E-mail: yingying.xie@uconn.edu
Silander Lab
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Global change ecology and plant phenology. Now I am working on comparison of phenological responses to climate change between New England and East Asia, and using cameras to
monitor plant canopy phenological events. |
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Zacharczenko, Brigette (Doctoral Student)
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Office: TLS 471
Phone: (860) 486-5503
E-mail: brigette.zacharczenko@uconn.edu
Wagner Lab
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Invertebrate systematics, speciation, and developmental biology. Evolutionary biology of the noctuid moth genus Acronicta with a focus on larval mimicry complexes, and changes in morphology and behavior between instars. |
62 people total
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University of Connecticut | 
