Our current students
Belen Alvestegui
Bolivia
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Pollination of the Andean genus Symbolanthus (Gentianaceae); phylogenetics; evolution of floral diversity in tropical communities.
Contact: bb7n4@umsystem.edu
Casey Ernest
Indiana, USA
Tobler Lab
Research Interests: How life histories drive differential survival in endangered species and how these traits can be used to maximize management efficiency. Casey’s dissertation is focused on assessing the genetic and environmental health of endangered Gambusia species in New Mexico and Texas.
Contact: cmeb5v@umsl.edu
Raj Prasai
Nepal
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Ecology of nectarivorous and frugivorous bats.
Contact: rp2dq@umsystem.edu
Alisa Sanakoeva
Georgia
Tobler Lab
Research Interests: Species delimitation, ecology, and conservation of the Vipera genus.
Contact: as6f2@umsl.edu
Alejandra Serna Sanchez
Colombia
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Evolution and diversification of tropical plants; effects of forest fragmentation on plant genetic diversity, population structure, and pollinator-mediated gene flow.
Contact: aschf@umsl.edu
Sarah Willen-Nelson
Missouri, USA
Miller Lab
Research Interests: Social insect ecology and Polistes population genomics.
Contact: smgc68@umsl.edu
Garrett Behrends
Nebraska, USA
Miller Lab
Research Interests: Using molecular techniques to characterize insect diets and species interactions.
Contact: gjb5fy@umsl.edu
Giulia de Gennaro
USA
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Aangiosperm systematics and taxonomy as well as the broader interactions between evolutionary biology and ecology.
Contact: gbdegennaro@mail.missouri.edu
Becky Hansis-O'Neill
Idaho, USA
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Animal cognition and welfare, science communication and outreach, employing digital museum specimens for education and outreach using digital interactives, augmented reality, and virtual reality.
Contact: bhc35@umsl.edu
Samir Kuinkel
Nepal
Miller Lab
Research Interests: Thermal tolerance in paper wasps, including passive thermoregulation and metabolic responses to heat, with an emphasis on how nesting behavior and stress response respond to changes in temperature.
Contact: skkdd@umsl.edu
Erik Johnson
Utah, USA
Tobler Lab
Research Interests: Evolution of asymmetrical traits. Current research focuses on how asymmetric traits influence behavior and how they are maintained broadly in livebearing fish. Also interested in how these morphological asymmetries are connected with other traits such as brain structure and gonopodial complexity.
Contact: ej7fq@umsl.edu
Soren Johnson
Illinois, USA
Tobler Lab
Research Interests: Evolution of fish in caves, specifically the evolutionary mechanisms leading to gain or loss of traits. More broad interests include ichthyology, evolution, and population genomics.
Conact: sj6z9@umsl.edu
Pratikshya Chalise
Nepal
Marchant Lab
Research Interests: Plant taxonomy, herbarium-based research, anatomical studies of native flora.
Contact: pcf9d@umsl.edu
Addy Yoder
Pennsylvania, USA
LaMontagne Lab
Research Interests: Habitat characteristics and oak masting in relation to the seasonal cavity use of Red-headed Woodpeckers.
Contact: ay2n5@umsl.edu
Sarah Jackson
Tennessee, USA
Tobler Lab
Research Interests: Cryopreservation of animal cells in threatened or endangered fish species. She is broadly interested in ex-situ conservation efforts involving conservation centers, zoos, and hobbyists.
Contact: sj6bz@umsystem.edu
Michael Hayes
California, USA
Marchant Lab
Research Interests: Sorghum anthers and pollen variation among varieties as well as the relationship of plant species anther size to their pollen amounts and morphology.
Contact: mh2h2@umsl.edu
Riley Adams
Michigan, USA
LaMontagne Lab
Research Interests: Impacts of climate change on the cone morphology and reproduction of boreal conifers.
Contact: ra8vx@umsl.edu
Maddie Smith
USA
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Human and environmental impacts on glade biodiversity and tarantula populations.
Contact: mns359@umsl.edu
Diego Centeno
Peru
LaMontagne Lab
Research Interests: Macrosystem ecology and population dynamics. Diego’s graduate research is focused on identifying characteristics of the transitional region of the east-west mast seeding ecological dipole.
Contact: dcyd2@umsl.edu
Matthew Mayer
Arizona, USA
Tobler Lab
Research Interests: Furthering the conservation of imperiled species, mainly the aquatic species found in arid regions of North America. Matthew's graduate research will focus on the genomics and conservation of Chihuahuan desert spring endemics.
Contact: mmwwr@umsl.edu
Magda Mieczick
Colorado, USA
LaMontagne Lab
Research Interests: Examining the spatiotemporal variability of seed masting in conifers in relation to climate change.
Contact: mmtyk@umsl.edu
Yagya Paneru
Nepal
LaMontagne Lab
Research Interests: Understanding the impact of global change agents on the reproduction of boreal conifers, plant taxonomy, and ecology.
Contact: ypgdd@umsl.edu
Last Updated: October 2026
Recent Alumni:
Dr. George Todd
Indiana, USA
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Hoverflies, urban ecology, behavioral plasticity, pollination, ecological tradeoffs.
Contact: gt6gr@umsl.edu
Dr. Kristen Rosamond
Louisiana, USA
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Microbial ecology, immunology, disease ecology, ornithology, and conservation.
Contact: kmrd3c@umsl.edu
Dr. John Bender
Illinois, USA
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Community ecology, food web dynamics, and species translocations. Work and research has been focused on Guam and Northern Mariana Islands since 2015 in various projects involving restoration ecology.
Contact: jvbgtk@umsl.edu
Andrea Trigueros
El Salvador
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Avian disease ecology and population genomics in the context of invasion biology.
Contact: actn2v@umsl.edu
Jeremy Howard
Maryland, USA
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Spatial behavior, spatial cognition, spatial memory, navigation, and learning, science and media.
Contact: jeremy.howard@mail.missouri.edu
Emily Beahm
Missouri, USA
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Effects of biopesticides on bumble bee cognition and behavior.
Contact: eabp4d@umsystem.edu
Sebastian Forward
California, USA
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Evolution of bat and hummingbird pollination in the genus Burmeistera. Currently examining how floral traits such as nectar composition, scent, and color evolve across pollination syndrome shifts.
Contact: smf3kv@umsl.edu
Jordan Hathaway
Missouri, USA
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Plant-pollinator interactions within agricultural systems.
Contact: jnhf2m@umsl.edu
Serena Achá
Bolivia
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Systematics of Prunus (Rosaceae) and Passiflora (Passifloraceae), species delimitation and geometric morphometry.
Contact: sia7vc@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Samoa Asigau
Papua New Guinea
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Population genetics and spatial and demographic patterns of mosquitoes in implicating avian malaria in the Galapagos Archipelago.
Contact: ssacn6@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Rani Asmarayani
Indonesia
Stevens Lab
Research Interests: Systematic study of Asian Piper (Piperaceae).
Contact: rawd5@umsl.edu
Dr. Matthew W. Austin
Missouri, USA
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Behavioral responses to anthropogenic environmental change; phenotypic plasticity; bumble bee ecology.
Contact: mwacpb@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Rachel Brant
Missouri, USA
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Native bee behavior, urban ecology
Contact: rabdxd@mail.umsl.edu
Camilo A. Calderon-Acevedo
Colombia
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Bat systematics and evolution, Bat-Plant interactions.
Contact: cackdb@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Miguel Chaves Fallas
Costa Rica
Marquis Lab
Research Interests: Plant-insect interactions on tropical islands, plant taxonomy, restoration ecology and conservation.
Contact: chamiguel@gmail.com
Dr. Eva Colberg
Alaska, USA
Marquis Lab
Research Interests: Plant-animal interactions, seed dispersal, myrmecology, fire ecology, tropical ecology and conservation.
Contact: eva.colberg@gmail.com
Dr. Estefania Fernandez
Bolivia
Marquis Lab
Research Interests: Restoration ecology, tropical forests, bromeliaceae, facilitation cascades and networks.
Contact: epi.stef@gmail.com
Dr. Andreia Figueiredo
Brazil
Dunlap Lab
Research Interests: Cognitive ecology, animal learning, insect behavior, social behavior, pollination biology.
Contact: aqtbp@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Diana Gamba
Colombia
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Biodiversity, biogeography, and evolution of flowering plants (specifically Melastomataceae). Focus in Neotropics, particularly in the Chocó and northern Andes.
Contact: dlgtk5@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Meghann Humphries
Missouri, USA
Ricklefs Lab
Research Interests: Phylogeography, population genetics, host/parasite coevolution.
Contact: mhn83@mail.umsl.edu
Jose Antonio Iturrizaga
Peru
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Behavioral ecology and disease ecology in Galapagos hawks.
Contact: jibyc@umsl.edu
Dr. Mari C. Jaramillo
Ecuador
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Disease Ecology of malaria ( Plasmodium) parasites in Galapagos avifauna.
Contact: mcj6fd@mail.umsl.edu
Alex Laschner-Posner
California, USA
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Evolution of Pollination Syndromes in the genus Burmeistera
Contact: aelwqb@mail.umsl.edu
M. Isabel Loza
Bolivia
Ricklefs Lab
Research Interests: Rarity and beta-diversity of trees of Bolivian forests.
Contact: milwc6@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Patricia Mendoza Becerra
Peru
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Wildlife trafficking, primate rehabilitation and disease risk.
Contact: am632@umsl.edu
Dr. Juan Moreira-Hernandez
Costa Rica
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Vertebrate pollination and seed dispersal, plant evolution, ecology of Neotropical bats, biodiversity conservation.
Conact: juan.moreira@gmail.com or jimxx6@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Fidisoa Rasambainarivo
Madagascar
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Conservation medicine, health and diseases at the human and wildlife interface.
Contact: ftrz98@mail.umsl.edu
Dr. Sage Rohrer
Missouri, USA
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Avian diseases and microbial ecology in Galapagos marine birds.
Contact: sdrq5f@umsl.edu
Dr. Amanda (Yingtong) Wu
China
Ricklefs Lab
Research Interests: Origin and maintenance of biodiversity, the ecology and evolution of species range size, host-pathogen interaction.
Contact: yw3dp@mail.umsl.edu
Emma Young
USA
Ricklefs Lab
Research Interests: Interactions between disease ecology and conservation biology, malaria parasite assemblages, and host/parasite interactions in neotropical birds of Gamboa, Panama.
Contact: emyoung90@gmail.com
Rieka Yu
California, USA
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Pollination in areas of fragmented landscapes, consequences of pollination for plant population genetics.
Contact: rymcf@mail.umsl.edu
Last Updated: February 2026
Dr. Helen Clawitter
USA
Parker Lab
Research Interests: Radioimmunoassay and Enzymeimmunoassay methods, aanimal behavior monitoring, reproductive and stress physiology.
Contact: hlcg2d@mail.umsl.edu
Lindsey Dennison
Missouri, USA
Muchhala Lab
Research Interests: Bats as pollinators
Contact: lrdvf2@umsl.edu