I am a biologist that uses molecular approaches to investigate how wildlife respond to changes in environmental conditions. For my dissertation, I used residual prey DNA in avian feces to show that anthropogenic stream acidification influences the behavior and diet of breeding migratory birds by reducing prey availability. I currently have two on-going studies investigating the influence of local environmental conditions on the diet and gut microbial communities of migratory birds wintering in the Caribbean. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh with Kevin Kohl, I'm using metagenomic techniques to study how changes in diet affect the digestive physiology and gut microbiome of wild rodents.

Updates

  • Presented poster on in ovo microbial communities at  Beneficial Microbes conference in Madison, WI.
  • New manuscript on in ovo microbial communities published in Biology Letters.
  • Started postdoc at University of Pittsburgh studying host-microbiome interactions with Kevin Kohl.

Featured Publications​