Ph.D. Student, Columbia University Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
Research Philosophy:
While my research integrates a large genetic component, I am primarily an ecologist, and I think that my background is an asset in my work. My dissertation will incorporate both ecological and genetic factors in describing the mechanistic causes of a complex social behavior.
Background and goals:
My research examines the mechanistic basis of sociality in highly social invertebrates. In these groups, only a few individuals reproduce with the help of many other non-reproductives. Each individual contains the genetic information needed to become a worker or a reproductive, but develops into a specialized behavioral role based on what genes are expressed ("turned on", or made into proteins) in their tissues. These patterns of expression are typically determined by local environmental conditions (1). Social behavior is thus the product of a profound interaction between genes and ecological conditions.
I aim to characterize the interaction of genetic and ecological conditions in creating complex social behavior. This will take place in two stages: a) a series of comparisons of gene expression profiles among behaviorally different individuals, which will identify the genetic basis of these behaviors (as in (2-4)); and b) a set of controlled laboratory experiments linking ecological conditions to those differences in gene expression and behavior. I work with highly social snapping shrimps of the genus Synalpheus.
More research (and references)
Education / Experience: Download CV (.pdf)
Advising:
I work in The Rubenstein Lab. I'm also mentored by Dr. J. Emmett Duffy and Dr. Rob DeSalle.
Previous advisors include Wayne Sousa and Sean Craig.
Background: Deco stop, GBR, courtesy Steve Andrews