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  • Caroline Abbott

    Caroline Abbott

    cpabbott@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Paleo / Hinds 223:  Broadly, my interests are paleobiology and macroevolution, focusing on Permo-Triassic amniotes. I study the synapsid Lystrosaurus across the End Permian Mass Extinction and use interdisciplinary methods to investigate extinction survival and recovery.
    Advisor:  Kenneth Angielczyk
    Angielczyk research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/ken-angielczyk
  • Miriam Ahmad-Gawel

    Miriam Ahmad-Gawel

    mahmadgawel@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Botany:  I am interested in understanding the factors that facilitate and/or constrain evolution and how they shape large-scale patterns of diversity.
    Advisor:  Richard Ree
    Ree research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/richard-ree
  • Kieran Althaus

    Kieran Althaus

    kalthaus@uchicago.edu
    Office - Morton Arboretum / Culver 404:  I am a botanist interested in using genetics to uncover hybridization and adaptive introgression in the diverse genus Quercus (Oaks), in Mexico.
    Advisor:  Andrew Hipp
    Hipp research:  https://mortonarb.org/science/staff/andrew-l-hipp/
  • Justin Baez

    Justin Baez

    jrbaez@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I study the early history of extant, and related extinct, mammalian lineages, by utilizing the fossil record and existing data to answer questions about intra- and inter-order ecological diversity patterns, with a particular focus on bats.
  • Louise H. Bodt

    Louise H. Bodt

    lhbodt@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Birds / Zoology 305:  I am focused on utilizing population genetics of invasive bird species as a model for understanding adaptive change & using this data to understand how climate change may impact the evolution of native species.
    Advisors:  John Bates, Shannon Hackett
    Hackett research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/shannon-hackett
    Bates research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/john-bates
  • Maximiliana Bogan

    Maximiliana Bogan

    bogan@uchicago.edu
    Office - GCIS W503A:  I’m currently interested in studying molecular adaptation to environmental stressors (especially those associated with anthropogenic climate change), with a focus on protein evolution and neofunctionalization.
    Advisors:  Cathy Pfister, Joseph Thornton
    Pfister Lab:  https://pfisterlab.uchicago.edu/
    Thornton Lab:  https://voices.uchicago.edu/thorntonlab/
  • Abby M. Caron

    Abby M. Caron

    amcaron@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 301:  I am studying the evolution of Paleozoic ray-finned fishes. Particular topics of interest include braincase characteristics, jaw articulation systems, and patterns of macroevolutionary radiation.
    Advisor:  Michael Coates
    Coates Lab:  https://coateslab.uchicago.edu/
  • Laura Cespedes Arias

    Laura Cespedes Arias

    lcespedesarias@uchicago.edu
    Office - Zoology 309A:  I am interested in behavioral and genomic approaches to study speciation at shallow time scales. I am fascinated by bird communication signals (e.g., plumage colors, songs, displays) and how these evolve during different stages of speciation.
    Advisor:  Trevor Price
    Price Lab:  https://voices.uchicago.edu/trevorpricelab/
  • Alexander D. Clark

    Alexander D. Clark

    adclark@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I study evolutionary influences behind ornamentation (display structures) in extinct taxa to piece together possible behaviors and ecologies focusing on Mesozoic and Cenozoic avian dinosaurs.
  • Alissa Doucet

    Alissa Doucet

    alissadoucet@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I am interested in exploring evolutionary changes in nocturnal insect pollinator communities using a combination of field and lab techniques, emphasizing environmental DNA (eDNA).
  • Jacob R. Drucker

    Jacob R. Drucker

    jrdrucker@uchicago.edu
    Office - Zoology 305 / Field Museum Birds:  My dissertation examines avian evolution in tropical climates through two lenses: variation in ecological traits within and between species across elevation in the Ecuadorian Andes, and the ebb and flow of bird migration across Colombia.
    Advisor:  John Bates, Shannon Hackett
    Hackett research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/shannon-hackett
    Bates research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/john-bates
  • Franklin Duffy

    Franklin Duffy

    fduffy@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I am interested in the role Earth's first stable freshwater environments played in sea-to-land transition of vertebrates, and whether convergent evolution produced similar transitional body types in stem-tetrapod lineages during the Middle/Late Devonian.
  • Henry Fulghum

    Henry Fulghum

    hzf@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I am broadly interested in the evolution of early (Mesozoic) mammals, and more specifically the impact of functional morphology and ecological traits upon their evolutionary trajectories.
  • Ryan S. Fuller

    Ryan S. Fuller

    rsfuller@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Botany / Morton Arboretum:  Using genomic and morphological tools, I seek to uncover existing differentiation and explore why those differences might exist/persist in natural populations.
    Advisors:  Richard Ree, Andrew Hipp
    Ree research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/richard-ree
    Hipp research:  https://mortonarb.org/science/staff/andrew-l-hipp/
  • Olivia Guerra

    Olivia Guerra

    omguerra@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 101:  I'm interested in evolutionary trends in living and fossil fishes. Specifically, I’m focusing on the morphology and biomechanics of the vertebral column and surrounding soft tissues in extant fishes to make predictions about their fossil ancestors.
  • Taylor Hains

    Taylor Hains

    thains@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Birds:  I conduct population / conservation genomic studies of critically-endangered South American parrot species, and develop genomic tools to aid wildlife trafficking enforcement and regulate U.S. captive populations.
    Advisors:  Shannon Hackett, John Bates
    Hackett research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/shannon-hackett
    Bates research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/john-bates
  • Ash Hamilton

    Ash Hamilton

    ahamilt@uchicago.edu
    Office - Morton Arboretum / Culver 404:  I am interested in using simulation and genomic approaches to explore microevolutionary processes in plant populations and developing tools to aid conservation and restoration efforts.
    Advisor:  Sean Hoban
    Hoban Lab:  https://www.hobanlab.com/
  • Jessi Hart

    Jessi Hart

    hartjl@uchicago.edu
    Office - Hinds 223:  I am interested in microbial ecology. I want to explore how environmental microbiomes modulate anthropogenic stress and climate change.
    Advisor:  Maureen Coleman
    Coleman Lab:  https://www.chicagomicrobes.org/coleman/
  • Samantha Kish-Levine

    Samantha Kish-Levine

    skishlevine@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Botany:  I am interested in the evolution of host range in parasitic plants, and the role that host-switching and biogeography play in their diversification. I use the hemiparisitic genus Pedicularis as a model system to investigate these questions.
    Advisor:  Richard Ree
    Ree research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/richard-ree
  • Abhimanyu Lele

    Abhimanyu Lele

    abhimanyulele@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Birds:  I am interested in using ecological and genetic techniques to explore how environmental variation affects avian population structure and biogeography.
    Advisor:  John Bates
    Bates research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/john-bates
  • Jing-Yi Lu

    Jing-Yi Lu

    jingyilu@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Botany:  I am interested in how and why plants evolve through time and space by studying how the pollination relationship affects diversification, floral evolution, and geographic distribution.
    Advisor:  Richard Ree
    Ree research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/richard-ree
  • Linnea Lungstrom

    Linnea Lungstrom

    lllungstrom@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 101 / Field Museum Fishes:  I am interested in examining how variation in morphology relates to the ecology, physiology, and behavior of marine fishes, in order to uncover potential drivers of morphological diversification and evolution in these groups.
    Advisor:  Mark Westneat
    Westneat Lab:  https://westneatlab.uchicago.edu/
  • Isaac Magallanes

    Isaac Magallanes

    imagallanes@uchicago.edu
    Office - Anatomy 306:  Supporting the concept that first molars are the most morphologically conserved position in the therian mammal post-canine tooth row, I will quantitatively examine if the same pattern of variance recovered in the tooth-crowns is reflected in the roots.
    Advisor:  Zhe-Xi Luo
    Luo Lab:  https://luolab.uchicago.edu/
  • Abigail Magland

    Abigail Magland

    amagland@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I am interested in exploring how species interaction feeds morphological diversity, specifically in plant-pollinator interactions. I want to look at the natural history of insect species and the plants they pollinate in a phylogenetic context.
  • Selena Martinez

    Selena Martinez

    selenamartinez@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Paleo / Culver 404:  I am a paleontologist interested in patterns of evolution and ecosystem recovery following mass extinctions, particularly among small-bodied reptiles and their early relatives.
    Advisor:  Kenneth Angielczyk
    Angielczyk research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/ken-angielczyk
  • Magdalen Mercado

    Magdalen Mercado

    mercado@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I'm interested in studying patterns of functional and morphological disparity in the vertebrate fossil record and using them to understand ancient ecosystems. I'm currently excited about geometric morphometrics, locomotory biomechanics, and pelycosaurs.
  • Diego Morales Sánchez

    Diego Morales Sánchez

    damorales@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I am interested in studying the genetic and genomic processes that contribute to the formation of new species in the presence of gene flow. Additionally, I am interested in developing and applying genomic tools for the conservation of endangered species.
  • Marquette Mutchler

    Marquette Mutchler

    mmutchler@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I use museum, genomic, and natural history-based resources to explore the impacts of avian perception on the evolution of traits (e.g., feather shape) with the goal of better understanding diversification across the bird tree of life.
  • Tristan Reinecke

    Tristan Reinecke

    treinecke@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Paleo:  My primary research interests involve the evolutionary history of pre-mammalian synapsids, with a specific focus on limb morphology and biomechanics.
    Advisor:  Kenneth Angielczyk
    Angielczyk research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/ken-angielczyk
  • Danny Rhoda

    Danny Rhoda

    danielrhoda@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Paleo:  I develop and use morphometric methods to understand patterns of adaptation and constraint in living and fossil animals, but mostly snakes.
    Advisor:  Kenneth Angielczyk
    Angielczyk research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/ken-angielczyk
  • Jo Robertson

    Jo Robertson

    jerobertson@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Birds:  I am interested in exploring how the gain and loss of migration influences the evolution of avian lineages. Specifically, I study how switches in migratory behavior impact processes such as genetic differentiation and speciation.
    Advisor:  John Bates, Shannon Hackett
    Bates research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/john-bates
  • Senna B. Robeson

    Senna B. Robeson

    sbrobeson@uchicago.edu
    Office - Morton Arboretum Herbarium:  I study the evolution of geographic range size in woody plants, using the genus Bejaria (tarflowers) as a system. Other interests include morphometry of Acer series Saccharodendron (hard maples) and origins of plant heterotrophy (parasitism & carnivory).
    Advisor:  Andrew Hipp
    Hipp research:  https://mortonarb.org/science/staff/andrew-l-hipp/
  • Madelynn Sinclair

    Madelynn Sinclair

    mmsinclair@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I’m interested in morphology and biogeography of vertebrates, particularly snakes. I’m fascinated by their integrative nature, and will study how the history of an animal's interactions with the environment shapes their appearance and distribution.
  • Bryton Smith

    Bryton Smith

    bsmith23@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I am broadly interested in reconstructing land plant evolution through fossil, molecular, and morphological data. For my dissertation, I intend to use stomatal size in early angiosperm fossils to infer ploidy in relation to fitness and diversification.
  • Sarah Saxton Strassberg

    Sarah Saxton Strassberg

    strassbergss@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Paleo / Culver 404:  I am interested in functional morphology, extinction risk, and sensory evolution in Permo-Triassic synapsids and Cenozoic mammals, particularly fossorial taxa.
    Advisor:  Kenneth Angielczyk
    Angielczyk research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/ken-angielczyk
  • Tatjana Washington

    Tatjana Washington

    washingtontm@uchicago.edu
    Office - Field Museum Birds:  I am studying how climate change influences wildlife's behavior and physiological responses.
    Advisors:  John Bates, Shannon Hackett
    Bates research:  https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/staff/profile/john-bates
  • Sharon Zhou

    Sharon Zhou

    zhous@uchicago.edu
    Office - Culver 404:  I am exploring the hierarchical structure of macroevolution and the role of contingency in shaping a lineage's evolutionary history, comparing different clades' responses to (mass) extinctions using extant and fossil bivalves as a study system.