51³Ô¹Ïapp

I’m passionate about progressing the field of ecology and evolution through the study of genomics. I am originally from Minnesota and was lucky enough to pursue a PhD in Australia studying some of the most interesting critters in the world. Previously, I worked on animal behaviour, genetics, and epigenetics on the common snapping turtle. My current projects focus on the population genetics and evolutionary consequences of parthenogenesis in a native Australian stick insect species.

Project: The Rise of Asexuality: Investigations into the early stages of transitions to parthenogenesis.

Supervised by: Prof. Russell Bonduriansky and A/Prof. Lee Rollins

Project Description: Sex is theoretically more costly than parthenogenesis, yet sex is the predominant mode of reproduction in the animal kingdom. My research uses a native Australian stick insect species that can reproduce sexually and parthenogenetically to better understand the early consequences of transitions to parthenogenesis in a natural setting. Specifically, I investigate the population genetics of this species in the wild as well as quantifying the phenotypic and ecological differences between the two reproductive modes in nature.