M.A. in Anthropology, University of Michigan 2003
BA from Yale University 1998

Supervisors:

Mark Westneat (fishes)

Research Interests:

Latin America (esp. Mexico), evolutionary biology, environmental conservation, public health, archaeology, anthropological genetics.

Current Research:

In 2003 the Westneat lab group completed a large phylogenetic project involving over 110 species of coral reef fishes, incorporating both molecular and morphological data into the analysis. (Publication forthcoming.) We have since begun three smaller (40-50 taxa) DNA sequencing studies expanding our knowledge of these subgroups of the larger data set:
1) Family Scaridae (parrotfish)
2) Genus Halichoeres
3) Genus Cheilinus and close relatives including Oxycheleinus,
Pseudocheilinus, Paracheilinus, and Cirrhilabrus.

I am sequencing the same two mitochondrial regions (12s and 16s) and nuclear genes (Tmo4C4 and Rag2) as the previous large project, with the addition of the mitochondrial gene cytb. We have also begun the sequencing of developmental genes Otx1, Dlx2, and Bmp4 in select taxa. These genes are known to have important roles in jaw, head, and tooth development, and we aim to assess potentially informative changes in the protein sequence between species in addition to the phylogenetic usefulness of this data.