Biology

• Office: Carr 609
• Email: s.basu@ufl.edu
• Interests: Conservation genetics for understanding population distributions of wild species, Landscape ecology, metagenomics, understanding techniques and characteristics of whole genome sequencing, studying microbiome diversity in endemic species of wildlife
• Advisor: Charles Baer
• Website: Shambadeb Basu

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• Office: _
• Email: becker.a@ufl.edu
• Interests: Botany, plant evolution, systematics, taxonomy, phylogenetics. Evolution of endemic Hawaiian Vaccinium (blueberries): origin and dispersal, subsequent speciation and population movement in diverse biogeographical conditions, examining conditions under which plants have adapted to extreme change rapidly. I am curious to compare morphological and ecological patterns of diversification to a molecular phylogeny of this group, hoping to reveal genetic relationships to local adaptions, exposing drivers of evolution.
• Advisor: Nico Cellinese

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• Office: _
• Email: joshua.benjamin@ufl.edu
• Interests: Macroinvertebrates taxonomy and ecology, Fish ecology, heavy metal concentration, aquatic Food web ecology, Climate Change, Biodiversity Conservation and Community ecology.
• Advisor: Amanda Subalusky
  

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• Office: 517 Carr Hall
• Email: tbowling2@ufl.edu
• Interests: Modeling shark movement and behavior in relation to bites on humans and environmental changes
• Advisor: Amanda Subalusky & Hannah Vander Zanden
• Link: Florida Program for Shark Research

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• Office: _
• Email: aliciaboyd@ufl.edu
• Interests: Regeneration, Genomics, and Developmental Biology
• Advisor: Elaine Seaver

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• Office: _
• Email: pratush.brahma@ufl.edu
• Interests: Evolution, sexual and natural selection
• Advisor: Colette St. Mary

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• Office: FMNH · Dickinson Hall
• Email: s.byrum@ufl.edu
• Interests: Chondrichthyan evolutionary developmental biology and paleontology
• Advisor: Gavin Naylor

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• Office: Carr 614
• Email: rsaragocabruno@ufl.edu
• Interests: Sea turtle ecology and physiology and conservation biology
• Advisor: Karen Bjorndal & Alan Bruce Bolten

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• Office:
• Email: bbuchanan1@ufl.edu
  
• Interests: behavioral ecology, conservation behavior, evolution of behavior and coloration, phylogenetics, conservation genetics, wildlife biology and management, ornithology
• Advisor: Rebecca Kimball

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• Office:
• Email: stevencassidy@ufl.edu
• Interests: Behavioral Ecology, Disease Ecology, and Community Ecology
• Advisor: Nick Keiser

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• Office: 617 Bartram Hall / Kawahara Lab
• Email: cinel1@ufl.edu
• Interests: Predator-prey ecology, stress neurophysiology, insect behavior, sensory ecology – hearing, bat-moth interactions
• Advisor: Akito Kawahara
• Link: Scott D. Cinel | Graduate Student

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• Office: 420 Bartram Hall
• Email: gcobb@ufl.edu
• Interests: Ecological genomics, Evolutionary genetics
• Advisor: Marta Wayne

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• Office: Cancer & Genetics Research Complex – Rm 415
• Email: lcoe@ufl.edu
• Interests: microbial physiology, symbiosis, cross-kingdom interaction, molecular genetics, science identity, science education
• Advisor: Bryndan Durham
• Link: Lisa Coe

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• Office: 412 Carr Hall
• Email: colonpineiro.z@ufl.edu
• Interests: Ecology, Developmental biology, Disease ecology, Herpetology
• Advisor: Ana Longo

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• Office: 614 Carr Hall
• Email: nconstant@ufl.edu
• Interests: Marine ecology, sea turtle biology and conservation, habitat use and foraging ecology of sea turtles, dynamics and sustainability of green turtle grazing in seagrass ecosystems, geospatial analysis, ecosystem-based management
• Advisor: Karen Bjorndal
• Link: Nerine Constant

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• Office: FMNH · Dickinson Hall
• Email: mariacortez@ufl.edu
• Interests: Population genetics, phylogenetics and phylogeography
• Advisor: Pam Soltis

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• Office: _
• Email: bcummings@ufl.edu
• Interests: _
• Advisor: Gustav Paulay

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• Office: Carr 318
• Email: ka.davis@ufl.edu
• Interests: Kate is interested in shifts in ecological ripple effects due to human impact with a special interest in selection pressure caused by invasive species. She received a Bachelors in Zoology and Masters in Ethology at Auburn University, assisting with research in New Mexico, South Carolina, and Eswatini. Before coming to UF, she was an educational Zoologist with The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and The Birmingham Zoo, leading and developing classes, programs, and discussions for the general public about the natural world and conservation
• Advisor: Hannah Vander Zanden

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• Office:
• Email: wdillard@ufl.edu
• Interests: Evolution, Genetics, Vertebrate Morphology
• Advisor: Gareth Fraser

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• Office: FMNH – Dickinson Hall
• Email: joshuadoby@ufl.edu
• Interests: Systematics, Biogeography, Phylogenetics, Evolution, Vertebrate Paleontology
• Advisor: Robert Guralnick

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Kaushayla Elgiriyewithana
Pronouns: she/her
Degree Program: Ph.D.

• Office: 402 Cancer & Genetics Research Complex
• Email: elgiriyewithanak@ufl.edu
• Interests: Bioinformatics and Genetics
• Advisor: William (Brad) Barbazuk

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Ogonna Eli
Degree Program: MSc

• Office: 310 Bartram
• Email: ogonna.eli@ufl.edu
• Interests: Plant Anatomy and Ecophysiology
• Advisor: Grace John

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• Office: _
• Email: enloecm@ufl.edu
• Interests: Conservation genomics, assessment of population structure and geographic variation in Seaside sparrows, avian ecology and conservation, wetland ecology
• Advisor: Rebecca Kimball

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• Office: 616 Bartram Hall
• Email: iezukanma@ufl.edu
• Interests: Bryophyte Ecology
• Advisor: Stuart McDaniel

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• Office: 
  
• Email: kathrynfeerst@ufl.edu
• Interests: Evolution of early development in polychaetes and, more broadly, in spiralians
• Advisor: Elaine Seaver

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• Office:
• Email: aflemming@ufl.edu
• Interests: The ecology of fishes, their role and niche in the environment, their life history as well as understanding how form relates to function
• Advisor: David Blackburn

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• Office: FMNH – Dickinson Hall
• Email: n.gardner@ufl.edu
• Interests: Ornithology, behavioral ecology, acoustic monitoring
• Advisor: Scott Robinson & Robert Guralnick

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• Office: BAR 310
• Email: claudia.garnicad@ufl.edu
• Interests: Plant anatomy, functional ecology, tropical ecosystems, serpentine soil
• Advisor: Grace John

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• Office: FMNH – Dickinson Hall
• Email: michellegaynor@ufl.edu
• Interests: Botany, evolutionary biology, and polyploidy
• Advisor: Pam Soltis

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• Office: 614 Carr Hall
• Email: george.glen@ufl.edu
• Interests: Sea turtle foraging ecology, reproductive biology and population dynamics
• Advisor: Karen Bjorndal

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• Office: FMNH – Dickinson Hall
• Email: gradyerin@ufl.edu
• Interests: Botany, Phenology, Urban Ecology, Community (Citizen) Science, Science Education.
• Advisor: Robert Guralnick

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• Office: Whitney Lab for Marine Bioscience – St. Augustine
• Email: lguttieres@whitney.ufl.edu
• Interests: Marine biology, Embryology, evolutionary biology, β-catenin functions in early branching animal phyla.
• Advisor: Mark Martindale

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• Office:
• Email: ahamersma@ufl.edu
• Interests: Paleobotany, ecology, ethnobotany
• Advisor: Steven Manchester

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• Office: 421 Carr Hall
• Email: arikhartmann@ufl.edu
• Interests: Herpetology, Disease Ecology, Conservation Biology
• Advisor: Ana Longo

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• Office:
• Email: lhendrick@ufl.edu
• Interests: Lepidopteran evolution and conservation
• Advisor: Akito Kawahara

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• Office:
• Email: dhoughtaling@ufl.edu
• Interests: Lepidopteran evolution and conservation
• Advisor: Chris Dutton

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• Office: FMNH · Dickinson Hall
• Email: aditij@ufl.edu
• Interests: Population genetics, biogeography and evolutionary biology
• Advisor: David Reed

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Sarah Johnson
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Degree Program: Ph.D.

• Office:
• Email: johnson.s@ufl.edu
• Interests: Impacts of mammals on community dynamics and ecosystem functions, specifically carcass decomposition
• Advisor: Amanda Subalusky & Todd Palmer

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• Office: Cancer & Genetics Research Complex – Rm 415
• Email: rebeccakey@ufl.edu
• Interests: Biochemical genetics, microbial ecology, phycology, bryology
• Advisor: Bryndan Durham & Stuart McDaniel

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• Office: 110 Bartram Hall
• Email:  khanyilelungelo@ufl.edu
• Interests: Phylogenomics, Biodiversity, Evolutionary Biology, Bioinformatics
• Advisor: Nico Cellinese
• Website: Cellinese Lab

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• Office: 110 Bartram Hall
• Email: s.khare@ufl.edu
• Interests: Community ecology, ecosystem ecology, ecological forecasting
• Advisor: Robert Holt

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• Office: 611 Bartram Hall
• Email: tklee@ufl.edu
• Interests: Behavioral Ecology, Evolution, and the influence of Predator-Prey Interactions in fishes
• Advisor: Colette St. Mary

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• Office:
• Email: skrupar@ufl.edu
• Interests: Florida native epiphytes, evolutionary biology, and climate change
• Advisor: Nico Cellinese

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• Office:
• Email: lkunselman@ufl.edu
• Interests: Neurobiology, Developmental Biology, Regeneration, and Marine Biology
• Advisor: Elaine Seaver

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• Office: 318 Carr Hall
• Email: sarahkurtis@ufl.edu
• Interests: Ecology and evolution of avian plumage coloration, molecular phylogenetics, and population genetics
• Advisor: Rebecca Kimball

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• Office:
• Email: ashleymeade@ufl.edu
• Interests: Foraging ecology of sea turtles, landscape ecology, and coastal ecosystems
• Advisor: Karen Bjorndal

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• Office: Carr 421
• Email: aileenlavelle@ufl.edu
• Interests: Aileen is interested in sea turtle movement ecology and conservation management. She focuses on using statistical and geospatial modeling to assess the most critical in-water threats to U.S. loggerhead sea turtle populations. She aims to understand the intricate balance between sea turtle habitat utilization and recreational human activities within coastal ecosystems.
• Website: https://people.clas.ufl.edu/hvz/

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• Office:
• Email: sz.lee@ufl.edu
• Interests: Evolutionary Biology, systematics, population genetics, sex determination and reproductive modes of sharks
• Advisor: Gavin Naylor

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• Office: Cancer & Genetics Research Complex
• Email: lingqinyin@ufl.edu
• Interests: Alternative splicing, comparative genomics, phylogenomics
• Advisor: William (Brad) Barbazuk

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• Office:Florida Museum of Natural History
• Email: ph.liyanagedara@ufl.edu
• Interests: Invertebrate paleontology, Conservation Paleobiology, Paleoecology, Ecology
• Advisor: Michal Kowalewski
• Link to Lab Website: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/kowalewski-lab/
  

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• • Office: 110 Bartram Hall
  • Email: yuanming.lu@ufl.edu
  • Interests: Theoretical Ecology, Invasive Species
  • Advisor: Robert D. Holt

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• Office: 415 Cancer & Genetics Research Complex
  
• Email: lmeke@ufl.edu
• Interests: Metabolomics, Phycology, Bacteriology, Marine Microbiology/Ecology, Marine Microbial Metabolic Pathways, Marine Microbial Interactions through Secondary Metabolites.
• Advisor: Bryndan Durham

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• Office: FMNH · Dickinson Hall 208
• Email: omendez1@ufl.edu
• Interests: Archosaurian evolution, functional morphology, paleobiology, and paleobiogeography
• Advisor: Jonathan I. Bloch

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• Office: _
• Email: dorothy.mitchell@ufl.edu
• Interests: _
• Advisor: Mark Martindale

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• Office: FMNH · Dickinson Hall
• Email: ldmontalvo@ufl.edu
• Interests: Community ecology, avian ecology, landscape ecology
• Advisor: Scott Robinson

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• Office: FMNH · Dickinson Hall
• Email: smmoran@ufl.edu
• Interests: Vertebrate paleontology, mammalian evolution, stable isotope paleoecology
• Advisor: Bruce MacFadden

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• Office:
• Email:
• Interests: Plant systematics, species delimitation, hybridization, and biogeography. Current groups of interest include Amorpheae (Fabaceae) and Clematis (Ranunculaceae).
• Advisor: Lucas Majure

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• Office: FMNH · Dickinson Hall
• Email: renarducci@ufl.edu
• Interests: Evolution, ecology, and functional morphology of armadillos and their closest relatives, with an emphasis on fossil taxa
• Advisor: Jonathan Bloch

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• Office: FMNH – 210 Dickinson Hall
• Email: fnares@ufl.edu
• Interests: Paleobotany, paleoclimate, and paleoecology of the Pacific Northwest
• Advisor: Steven Manchester

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• Office:
• Email: j.correanarvaez@ufl.edu
• Interests:
• Advisor: Steven Manchester

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• Office: 511 Carr Hall
• Email: nicholas.newell@ufl.edu
• Interests: Evolution, genetics, behavior and aging in social insects
• Advisor: Hua Yan

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• Office:
• Email: e.nicklin@ufl.edu
• Interests:
• Advisor:

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• Office:
• Email: c.nolte@ufl.edu
• Interests: Conservation biology, stable isotope ecology, and epibiont communities of sea turtles
• Advisor: Hannah Vander Zanden

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Degree Program: Ph.D.

• • Office: 201E Dickenson Hall
  • Email: olsonse@ufl.edu
  • Interests: Vertebrate Paleontology, Functional Morphology, Mammal Evolution
  • Advisor: Jonathan Bloch

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• Email: e.pano@ufl.edu
• Interests: evolutionary biology, phylogeography, genetic diversity, polyploidy
• Advisor: Nico Cellinese
  

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• Office:
• Email: kasey.pham@ufl.edu
• Interests: Plant hybridization genomics, bioinformatics, science art and communication
• Advisor: Doug Soltis

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• Office: Laboratory of Systematics & Evolutionary Genetics located within Dickinson Hall
• Email: bharti.parihar@ufl.edu
• Interests: Evo-Devo; Systematics; Phylogenomics & Phylogenetics; Evolutionary Biology/Trait Evolution. Current area of study is the evolution of leaf succulence using Zygophyllaceae as a model system.
• Advisor: Doug Soltis

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