Faculty

Photo of Robert Bagchi

Robert Bagchi

Associate Professor

Research Interests: The processes that maintain biodiversity in natural ecosystems (particularly in the tropics); how human activity might affect this biodiversity; the role of biodiversity in the provision of ecosystem functions/services

robert.bagchi@uconn.edu

Photo of James Bernot

James Bernot

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: The evolution of parasitism; parasitic copepod evolution, host-associations, systematics, taxonomy, and morphology; crustacean genomics and phylogeny

james.bernot@uconn.edu

Photo of Daniel Bolnick

Daniel Bolnick

Professor

Research Interests: Evolution and ecology of variation within species; evolutionary immunology; host-parasite co-evolution; speciation. I combine observational natural history with experiments, theory, and genomics.

daniel.bolnick@uconn.edu

Photo of Andrew Bush

Andrew Bush

Professor

Research Interests: Paleobiology, including Phanerozoic trends in ecospace utilization and biodiversity; gradient analyses of patchy paleoecologic distributions; and stratigraphy and extinction in the Late Devonian of the Appalachian Basin

andrew.bush@uconn.edu

Photo of John Cooley

John Cooley

Visiting Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Speciation and mating system evolution; song evolution and genetic boundaries in North American periodical cicadas and New Zealand cicadas

john.cooley@uconn.edu

Photo of Miranda Davis

Miranda Davis

Associate Professor in Residence

Research Interests: Wildlife population dynamics and the ecological interactions among large mammal populations; how large mammal populations (specifically carnivores, ungulates) coexist and how these communities can be managed and conserved in the face of rapid environmental change in a human-dominated world

miranda.l.davis@uconn.edu

Photo of Pamela Diggle

Pamela Diggle

Professor and Department Head

Research Interests: Effects of genotype, environment, and ontogenetic history on the development and evolutionary diversification of plant phenotypes

pamela.diggle@uconn.edu

Photo of Chris Elphick

Chris Elphick

Professor

Research Interests: Avian conservation ecology, especially in coastal and farmland settings; habitat loss, climate change, large-scale conservation planning

chris.elphick@uconn.edu

Photo of Michael Finiguerra

Michael Finiguerra

Associate Professor in Residence

Research Interests: Evolutionary ecology of zooplankton, specifically how stressors can affect ecological interactions and evolutionary trajectories; pedagogical approaches to teaching science to undergraduates

michael.finiguerra@uconn.edu

Photo of Adam Fry

Adam Fry

Lecturer

Research Interests: Avian population genetics and phylogeography; genetics of host-endosymbiont coevolution, particularly the Wolbachia-Drosophila association; identifying best practices in university-level pedagogy

adam.fry@uconn.edu

Photo of Nicole Fusco

Nicole Fusco

Assistant Professor in Residence

Research Interests: Urban ecology and evolution, with a specific focus on how urban development affects genetic connectivity & evolution of native species in cities. Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, Zoology, Anatomy & Physiology

nicole.fusco@uconn.edu

Photo of Carlos Garcia-Robledo

Carlos Garcia-Robledo

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Evolutionary ecology of plant-insect interactions; adaptation to novel environments (e.g., novel hosts, climate change), molecular biology, insect physiology, demography

carlos.garcia-robledo@uconn.edu

Photo of Bernard Goffinet

Bernard Goffinet

Professor

Research Interests: Systematics of bryophytes and lichenized fungi; evolution of spore dispersal mechanisms and breeding systems in mosses; evolution of multiple symbioses and photomorphism in lichens

bernard.goffinet@uconn.edu

Photo of Susan Herrick

Susan Herrick

Assistant Professor in Residence

Research Interests: Behavioral ecology and herpetology, particularly interested in social behavior and interspecific interactions; spatial and acoustic interactions between breeding ranid frogs

susan.herrick@uconn.edu

Photo of Karolina Heyduk

Karolina Heyduk

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Evolution of plant adaptations to abiotic stress; evolution of CAM photosynthesis; plant ecophysiology; comparative genomics

karolina.heyduk@uconn.edu

Photo of Elizabeth Jockusch

Elizabeth Jockusch

Professor and Associate Department Head

Research Interests: Phenotypic evolution; particularly evolution of development and evolution of phenotypic plasticity in basal insects and salamanders; systematics

elizabeth.jockusch@uconn.edu

Photo of Sarah Knutie

Sarah Knutie

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Disease ecology of birds and amphibians; host-microbe interactions; ecotoxicology; invasive species biology; behavioral ecology

sarah.knutie@uconn.edu

Photo of Claudia Kraemer

Claudia Kraemer

Associate Professor in Residence

Research Interests: General biology, zoology, animal behavior, cell and molecular biology, embryology, genetics, anatomy and physiology

claudia.kraemer@uconn.edu

Photo of Colin Kremer

Colin Kremer

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Interactions between ecology, evolution, and physiology in variable and changing environments, using math, statistics, and experiments involving phytoplankton

colin.kremer@uconn.edu

Photo of Louise Lewis

Louise Lewis

Professor

Research Interests: Systematics and evolution of green algae, especially terrestrial forms; phylogeny of basal green plants; diversity of desert algae

louise.lewis@uconn.edu

Photo of Paul Lewis

Paul Lewis

Professor

Research Interests: Phylogenetic theory and methodology; statistical phylogenetics with an emphasis on Bayesian phylogenetics; marginal likelihood estimation; estimating information content

paul.lewis@uconn.edu

Photo of Gene Likens

Gene Likens

Distinguished Research Professor

Research Interests: Long-term, multidisciplinary studies of forest, stream and lake ecosystems in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

likensg@caryinstitute.org

Photo of Yang Liu

Yang Liu

Assistant Research Professor

Research Interests: Bryophyte phylogeny, and evolution of organelle genomes

yang.liu@uconn.edu

Photo of Ed McAssey

Edward McAssey

Assistant Professor in Residence

Research Interests: Local adaptation and population genomics in plants; Hybridization and speciation; Photosynthetic evolution; Biology education

edward.mcassey@uconn.edu

Photo of Cory Merow

Cory Merow

Assistant Research Professor

Research Interests: Ecological modeling; maximum entropy methods; Bayesian methods; community ecology; plant demography; the Cape Floristic Region; invasive species

cory.merow@uconn.edu

Susan Preston-Berlin

Assistant Professor in Residence

susan.preston-berlin@uconn.edu

Photo of Margaret Rubega

Margaret Rubega

Professor

Research Interests: Avian functional and evolutionary morphology, especially of feeding structures; feeding mechanics; functional aspects of behavior; ecology; conservation biology

margaret.rubega@uconn.edu

Photo of Kurt Schwenk

Kurt Schwenk

Professor

Research Interests: Functional and evolutionary morphology of tetrapod vertebrates, especially feeding and chemoreception in lizards and snakes

kurt.schwenk@uconn.edu

Photo of Jeff Seemann

Jeff Seemann

Professor

Research Interests: Plant responses to the environment from the level of genes to ecosystems, with a focus on photosynthesis, the global carbon cycle, and the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to rising atmospheric CO2

jeff.seemann@uconn.edu

H.R. Skeen

Assistant Research Professor

heather.skeen@uconn.edu

Stephen Trumbo

Professor

Research Interests: Insects, behavior, physiology, carrion ecology

trumbo@uconn.edu

Photo of Mark Urban

Mark Urban

Professor

Research Interests: Community ecology; eco-evolutionary dynamics; microgeographic adaptation; global climate change; metacommunity ecology

mark.urban@uconn.edu

Photo of David Wagner

David Wagner

Professor

Research Interests: Systematics; phylogenetics, especially of the Lepidoptera; insect behavior and ecology; invertebrate conservation

david.wagner@uconn.edu

Photo of Jill Wegrzyn

Jill Wegrzyn

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Scientific databasing and visualization; machine learning; semantic web; ontologies; computational biology; plant genomics; comparative genomics

jill.wegrzyn@uconn.edu

Photo of Rod Wilson

Rod Wilson

Lecturer

Research Interests: Pedagogy, Development and Molecular Evolution

roderick.wilson@uconn.edu

Photo of Yaowu Yuan

Yaowu Yuan

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Genetics, development, and evolution of phenotypic diversity; genetics of adaptation and speciation; plant-pollinator interactions; transposable elements and plant genomics; plant molecular systematics

yaowu.yuan@uconn.edu