Graduate Students

Photo of Maurice Amee

Maurice Amee

Doctoral Student

Tags: Wegrzyn Lab

maurice.amee@uconn.edu

Photo of Lucky Barahebuza

Lucky Barahebuza

Masters Student

Tags: Bagchi Lab

Research Interests: My research interests are focused on the effects of megafauna loss in tropical forests and how it affects the natural regeneration patterns of individual tree species and ecosystems as a whole

luckybarahebuza@uconn.edu

Photo of Cindy Barreto

Cindy Barreto

Doctoral Student

Tags: Rubega Lab

Research Interests: Host-parasite interactions; urban evolutionary biology; bird behavior; avian ecology and conservation.

cindy.barreto@uconn.edu

Akriti Bhattarai

Masters Student

Tags: Wegrzyn Lab

akriti.bhattarai@uconn.edu

Photo of Peter Billman

Peter Billman

Doctoral Student

Tags: Urban Lab

Research Interests: Ecological responses to climate change, drivers of animal range limits, biogeography, evolutionary ecology, stress response, and especially how these all tie together in montane systems, globally

peter.billman@uconn.edu

Photo of Laura Bizzarri

Laura Bizzarri

Doctoral Student

Tags: Garcia-Robledo Lab

Research Interests: Mechanisms structuring tropical communities, using phoretic mites as a model system; interaction networks; climate change effects at the organismal and community levels

laura.bizzarri@uconn.edu

Photo of Savanna Brown

Savanna Brown

Doctoral Student

Tags: Jockusch Lab

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution and diversification of novel traits, particularly in the body plans of arthropods

savanna.brown@uconn.edu

Photo of Brandon Chan

Brandon Chan

Doctoral Student

Tags: Kremer Lab

Research Interests: Climate change effects on phytoplankton-bacteria interactions; antibiotic resistance in marine environments; phytoplankton ecology

brandon.w.chan@uconn.edu

Emma Choi

Doctoral Student

Tags: Bolnick Lab

Research Interests: I'm interested in identifying genes that are coevolving between threespine stickleback and a parasitic tapeworm that infects them.

emma.choi@uconn.edu

Photo of Matthew Donahue

Matthew Donahue

Doctoral Student

Tags: Urban Lab

Research Interests: I'm interested in studying the ways that anthropogenic activities shape evolution on a contemporary timescale and how we can use evolutionary principles to promote conservation

matthew.donahue@uconn.edu

Photo of Kaitlyn Drumma

Kaitlyn Drumma

Masters Student

Tags: Bagchi Lab

Research Interests: My study interests include natural sciences such as botany, ecology, and zoology

kaitlyn.drumma@uconn.edu

Photo of Jessica Espinosa

Jessica Espinosa

Doctoral Student

Tags: Rubega Lab

Research Interests: Conservation biology; how seabird movement, behavior, and morphology are affected by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance

jessica.espinosa@uconn.edu

Photo of Emily Feng

Emily Feng

Masters Student

Tags: Elphick Lab

Research Interests: Exploring the interface of human-natural systems; Developing conservation strategies for biodiversity and human well-being

mei-ling.feng@uconn.edu

Photo of Mandy Game

Mandy Game

Doctoral Student

Tags: Jockusch Lab

Research Interests: I am interested in the evolution and development of panarthropods

amanda.game@uconn.edu

Photo of Franco Gigliotti

Franco Gigliotti

Doctoral Student

Tags: Elphick Lab

Research Interests: Applied avian ecology, with particular interests in threatened and endangered species, landscape ecology, survey methods, species projections, and remote sensing techniques.

frank.gigliotti@uconn.edu

Photo of Kara Heilemann

Kara Heilemann

Masters Student

Tags: Caira Lab

Research Interests: Systematics, taxonomy, and morphology of tapeworms hosted by elasmobranchs

kara.heilemann@uconn.edu

Brett Henry

BS/MS Student

Tags: Elphick Lab

brett.henry@uconn.edu

Sydney Horan

Doctoral Student

Tags: Caira Lab

Research Interests: Host-parasite interactions and environmental change

sydney.horan@uconn.edu

Photo of Noor Kaur

Noor Kaur

Doctoral Student

Tags: Jones Lab

Research Interests: I am interested in studying the developmental morphology and genetic mechanisms underlying the diverse leaf shapes in Pelargonium scabrum.

noorpreet.kaur@uconn.edu

Photo of G. Young Kim

G. Young Kim

Masters Student

Tags: Heyduk Lab

Research Interests: Epiphytic CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) plants in tropical rainforests, specifically native Hawaiian Peperomia (family Piperaceae)

gykim@uconn.edu

Photo of Chelsea Kintz

Chelsea Kintz

Doctoral Student

Tags: Rubega Lab

Research Interests: Functional morphology of birds

chelsea.kintz@uconn.edu

Photo of Katja Kwaku

Katja Kwaku

Doctoral Student

Tags: Urban Lab

Research Interests: Amphibian ecology and conservation

katja.kwaku@uconn.edu

Hannah Larson

Doctoral Student

Tags: Kremer Lab

Research Interests: Phytoplankton responses to environmental stressors.

hannah.larson@uconn.edu

Photo of Michael Lascaleia

Michael LaScaleia

Doctoral Student

Tags: Bagchi Lab

Research Interests: I'm interested in researching why forests contain the species they do, and what we can do to conserve those species. In general, I work with plants (trees) and insects (moths, flies, and wasps), but I'm always interested in every organism that calls the forest home.

michael.lascaleia@uconn.edu

Weijun Liang

Doctoral Student

Tags: Yuan Lab

Research Interests: Evolutionary genetics of floral traits

weijun.liang@uconn.edu

Photo of Ellie Loew-Mendelson

Ellie Loew-Mendelson

Doctoral Student

Tags: Heyduk Lab

Research Interests: I am interested in exploring adaptations among the aquatic plants of New England -- how they grow, reproduce, and co-exist

emendelson@uconn.edu

Photo of Noah Manuel

Noah Manuel

Masters Student

Tags: L. Lewis Lab

Research Interests: Plant and algae taxonomy and evolution are my study interests

noah.manuel@uconn.edu

Photo of Claire Marino

Claire Marino

Doctoral Student

Tags: Bagchi Lab, Heyduk Lab

claire.marino@uconn.edu

Photo of Kelsey Miles

Kelsey Miles

Doctoral Student

Tags: Elphick Lab

Research Interests: Physiological and behavioral ecology in family Chrysomelidae: thermal tolerances and impacts of climate change on survivorship, fecundity, behavior, physiology.

kelsey.2.miles@uconn.edu

Analisa Milkey

Doctoral Student

Tags: P. Lewis Lab

Research Interests: Phylogenetic methods

analisa.milkey@uconn.edu

Valerie Mingrone

BS/MS Student

Tags: Elphick Lab

valerie.mingrone@uconn.edu

Photo of Baaqeyah Muhammad

Baaqeyah Muhammad

Doctoral Student

Tags: Jockusch Lab

Research Interests: Evolutionary and developmental consequences of genome expansion in salamanders

baaqeyah@uconn.edu

Photo of Zach Muscavitch

Zachary Muscavitch

Doctoral Student

Tags: Goffinet Lab, L. Lewis Lab

Research Interests: Systematics, taxonomy, and phylogeography of lichenized fungi and their symbionts. Symbiont biology

zachary.muscavitch@uconn.edu

Frank Muzio

Doctoral Student

Tags: Rubega Lab

Research Interests: Functional and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, primarily birds and mammals

frank.muzio@uconn.edu

Alyssa Pendergast

Masters Student

Tags: Jockusch Lab

Research Interests: Her study interests lie in animal behavior, particularly within and between species, and how that could influence the overall ecosystem

alyssa.pendergast@uconn.edu

Maya Ray

Masters Student

Tags: Elphick Lab

maya.ray@uconn.edu

Photo of Kyle Rossner

Kyle Rossner

Masters Student

Tags: Wagner Lab

Research Interests: Factors influencing changes in populations of Lepidoptera in pine barrens ecosystems, the concepts and perception of ecological rarity as they relate to species of megachilid bees, and the biogeography of Nearctic waterscorpions.

kyle.rossner@uconn.edu

Photo of Ketki Samel

Ketki Samel

Doctoral Student

Tags: Elphick Lab

Research Interests: Community ecology, interspecies interactions, and conservation of Northeastern birds

ketki.samel@uconn.edu

Mark Stukel

Doctoral Student

Tags: Simon Lab

Research Interests: Systematics and phylogeography of insects, specifically cicadas

mark.stukel@uconn.edu

Photo of Swapna Subramanian

Swapna Subramanian

Doctoral Student

Tags: Bolnick Lab

Research Interests: Yeast experimental evolution and genetic networks; predicting evolutionary outcomes to climate change

swapna.subramanian@uconn.edu

Photo of Brenden Thompson

Brenden Thomson

Masters Student

Tags: Goffinet Lab

Research Interests: My research interests include bryophyte systematics and symbiosis

brenden.thomson@uconn.edu

Photo of Nick Van Gilder

Nicholas Van Gilder

Doctoral Student

Tags: Jockusch Lab

Research Interests: Conservation genetics, systematics, and phylogenetics of plethodontid salamanders

nicholas.van_gilder@uconn.edu

Photo of Vidya Vuruputoor

Vidya Vuruputoor

Doctoral Student

Tags: Wegrzyn Lab

Research Interests: Genomics and its application towards understanding plant-parasite interactions

vidya.vuruputoor@uconn.edu

Anni Wang

Doctoral Student

Tags: Bolnick Lab

anni.wang@uconn.edu

Photo of Cynthia Webster

Cynthia Webster

Doctoral Student

Tags: Wegrzyn Lab

Research Interests: Bioinformatics and conservation genomics

cynthia.webster@uconn.edu