Research
PhD Research
I am currently a PhD Candidate and Ross-Lynn fellow working in the Christie Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University. Broadly, I study how species are responding to changing ocean conditions using genomic and transcriptomic techniques. I am also interested in studying how marine populations are connected to each other in time and space.
Specifically, I study how Kellet's whelks (Kelletia kelletii), an Eastern Pacific coastal gastropod, is adapting to novel conditions and how its populations are connected to each other. We uncovered population structure between the historical and expanded ranges of Kellet's whelks, and found genetic adaptation related to cold tolerance in the expanded range. Read more about it in our recently published paper!
Research Technician
As a Scientific Aid in the Genetic Research Program of the Wildlife Investigations Lab, I used various conservation genetic and genomic techniques to protect and conserve California native species. I focused largely on creating libraries using Double Digest RADseq (ddRAD) to study Tule elk and Rocky Mountain elk populations.
Undergraduate Research
I conducted plankton sampling using field and robotics techniques, then identified plankton using microscopy and genetics. I also coordinated and managed the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Project. I worked with scientists, commercial fishermen, and recreational anglers to monitor California’s Marine Protected Areas and determined their efficacy at preserving groundfish species from fishing pressure.
For my undergraduate thesis at the MECU, I examined genetic differences of island spotted skunks from Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands, as part of a larger study on the timing of divergence between skunks of the Channel Islands and mainland California. Check out our paper in the Journal of Mammalogy here!
