About

I am an assistant professor of biology at the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly). My current research is predominantly focused on the evolutionary history and population genetics of primates, in particular lemurs, strepsirrhine primates endemic to Madagascar. I am also broadly interested in the impact of human activity on endangered species, phylogenetics, and conservation.

As a postdoctoral researcher in the Conservation Genetics Department at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium I worked with Dr. Edward E. Louis, Jr., on several projects clarifying aspects of the evolutionary history and taxonomy of lemurs using a genetic and morphological approach. I am also examining home range size and behavior in the aye-aye using GPS tracking. The focus of my doctoral dissertation with Dr. Mark Batzer was the short interspersed element (SINE) Alu, a primate-specific mobile element useful as a phylogenetic and population genetic marker. I used this SINE to study evolutionary relationships among the lemurs and gibbons, in addition to examining the Alu element subfamily content of the western lowland gorilla. You can read more about my work on my "Research" page.