I am a Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Museum of Natural History. My research program branches across several disciplines but the overall theme is to better understand how the physics of flowing water and geoclimatic processes have influenced the diversification of freshwater organisms. My background is in Fisheries Biology but I spend most of my time studying the evolution and ecology of freshwater mussels (order Unionida) and other stream macroinvertebrates. I also strive to make science more inclusive by being an advocate for underrepresented groups and engaging in community science projects.
Freshwater mussels are an impressively diverse radiation of bivalves, though an incomplete phylogeny limits applied research of this fascinating group. A major objective of my research is to improve the freshwater mussel tree of life by resolving relationships and doing revisionary work.
Phylogenetic tools have become astonishingly powerful. I am interested in applying tools genome skimming, RAD-seq, and target capture to test phylogeographic hypotheses.
Understanding WHY species exhibit traits, be it morphological or behavioral, is an incredibly important aspect of biodiversity research. I conduct experiments using natural and artificial conditions to uncover the function of traits and better understand the ecology of stream organsisms.
Globally, freshwater is a highly imperiled habitat and freshwater mussels are among the most imperiled faunal groups. I aim to inform conservation and management of freshwater resources through my science.
