Lab Mission Statement
To enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying animal behavior using an evolutionary framework in order to develop predictive models that can be applied to solve conservation biology problems. We accomplish that mission by carefully planning our research, promoting team-work, setting-up collaborative studies with on- and off-campus labs, and increasing our productivity through publications.
Our research is question-driven, and we use different species of birds, mammals, amphibians, fish, and insects as models depending on their suitability to answer the questions we are interested in.
We actively encourage the involvement of students in our research projects as a way of enhancing their background, problem-solving skills, and job opportunities.
We support open and transparent research practices that contribute to improving the rigor of the research we do.
The well-being of the animals we study is a top priority. Consequently, we follow ethical guidelines and provide high standards of animal care.
To enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying animal behavior using an evolutionary framework in order to develop predictive models that can be applied to solve conservation biology problems. We accomplish that mission by carefully planning our research, promoting team-work, setting-up collaborative studies with on- and off-campus labs, and increasing our productivity through publications.
Our research is question-driven, and we use different species of birds, mammals, amphibians, fish, and insects as models depending on their suitability to answer the questions we are interested in.
We actively encourage the involvement of students in our research projects as a way of enhancing their background, problem-solving skills, and job opportunities.
We support open and transparent research practices that contribute to improving the rigor of the research we do.
The well-being of the animals we study is a top priority. Consequently, we follow ethical guidelines and provide high standards of animal care.
Are you interested in joining the lab?
Are you an undergraduate student interested in getting involved in research?
We do welcome undergraduate students in our lab. There is flexibility in terms of the projects you may participate: from physiology to animal behavior, including field work and even coding videos of the behavioral experiments we run. We seek students who are very responsible and pro-active. You could participate in the project of a graduate student or you could run your own independent project. We spend all the necessary time to train you and make sure you will collect good quality data. The lab has a very friendly environment in which team work is highly encouraged.
Are you a potential graduate student interested in joining the lab?
I welcome enquiries from potential Masters or Ph.D. students. Graduate school is an important investment of your time (and money), so I take graduate student training very seriously. The lab has broad interests in behavioral ecology, visual ecology, and conservation biology. Graduate students can work in some of our areas of interest or they can also develop their own projects.
Besides a rigorous training, I believe that students can get the best benefits out of graduate school by allocating energy and time to publishing their work in peer-reviewed journals. So, there is an expectation to do good science and publish papers. Publishing will in turn enhance the student’s resume and open up further professional opportunities (e.g., post-docs, Faculty positions, jobs in Federal and State agencies, etc.). Graduate students in the lab also receive a good training in experimental design, statistics, and grant-writing, as these skills are necessary to be successful in research.
Why go to graduate school in Indiana?! There are at least 10 reasons why you may want to consider Purdue when thinking about which graduate schools to apply.
(1) Purdue is a research intensive University with a lot of very talented (nation- and world-wide) Faculty.
(2) The Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences specialize in various disciplines (from structural biology to ecology) and encourage multi-disciplinary approaches to answer questions. Multi-disciplinary projects are an important trend in biology nowadays.
(3) The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Research Area in our Department has many renowned ecologists that are always happy to interact with graduate students. You can check out the news in EEB Twitter.
(4) The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Research Area has a great reputation for offering a friendly but scientifically rigorous atmosphere for grad school.
(5) We hold lab meetings within and between labs and have a weekly seminar series (Ecolunch). This level of interaction provides multiples opportunities to learn about the scientific process.
(6) There are some TA’s, RA’s, and Fellowships available to support graduate students.
(7) The costs of living in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area are comparatively low for a big school like Purdue relative to other campuses.
(8) If you want to be surrounded by smart people, consider that West Lafayette has been ranked as one of the most educated small town in the US.
(9) If you want entertainment, Indianapolis is about an hour and Chicago two hours away. Both are great cities with lots of options.
Finally, there are four important things you might want to do to find out if the lab could be a good fit for you. First, go through our website and learn about what we do and how we do it. Second, read some of our publications. Third, you may contact me by email to schedule a time to chat on the phone/Zoom about graduate school here at Purdue. I am always happy to talk to students. Fourth, learn more about living in Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana.
Are you an undergraduate student interested in getting involved in research?
We do welcome undergraduate students in our lab. There is flexibility in terms of the projects you may participate: from physiology to animal behavior, including field work and even coding videos of the behavioral experiments we run. We seek students who are very responsible and pro-active. You could participate in the project of a graduate student or you could run your own independent project. We spend all the necessary time to train you and make sure you will collect good quality data. The lab has a very friendly environment in which team work is highly encouraged.
Are you a potential graduate student interested in joining the lab?
I welcome enquiries from potential Masters or Ph.D. students. Graduate school is an important investment of your time (and money), so I take graduate student training very seriously. The lab has broad interests in behavioral ecology, visual ecology, and conservation biology. Graduate students can work in some of our areas of interest or they can also develop their own projects.
Besides a rigorous training, I believe that students can get the best benefits out of graduate school by allocating energy and time to publishing their work in peer-reviewed journals. So, there is an expectation to do good science and publish papers. Publishing will in turn enhance the student’s resume and open up further professional opportunities (e.g., post-docs, Faculty positions, jobs in Federal and State agencies, etc.). Graduate students in the lab also receive a good training in experimental design, statistics, and grant-writing, as these skills are necessary to be successful in research.
Why go to graduate school in Indiana?! There are at least 10 reasons why you may want to consider Purdue when thinking about which graduate schools to apply.
(1) Purdue is a research intensive University with a lot of very talented (nation- and world-wide) Faculty.
(2) The Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences specialize in various disciplines (from structural biology to ecology) and encourage multi-disciplinary approaches to answer questions. Multi-disciplinary projects are an important trend in biology nowadays.
(3) The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Research Area in our Department has many renowned ecologists that are always happy to interact with graduate students. You can check out the news in EEB Twitter.
(4) The Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Research Area has a great reputation for offering a friendly but scientifically rigorous atmosphere for grad school.
(5) We hold lab meetings within and between labs and have a weekly seminar series (Ecolunch). This level of interaction provides multiples opportunities to learn about the scientific process.
(6) There are some TA’s, RA’s, and Fellowships available to support graduate students.
(7) The costs of living in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area are comparatively low for a big school like Purdue relative to other campuses.
(8) If you want to be surrounded by smart people, consider that West Lafayette has been ranked as one of the most educated small town in the US.
(9) If you want entertainment, Indianapolis is about an hour and Chicago two hours away. Both are great cities with lots of options.
Finally, there are four important things you might want to do to find out if the lab could be a good fit for you. First, go through our website and learn about what we do and how we do it. Second, read some of our publications. Third, you may contact me by email to schedule a time to chat on the phone/Zoom about graduate school here at Purdue. I am always happy to talk to students. Fourth, learn more about living in Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana.
Current lab members
Lab Alumni:
Former graduate students: Rachael Poston, Vanessa Tisdale, Cara Snellen, Anna Valcarcel, Megan Gall, Tracy Dolan, Colleen O'Rourke, Bonnie Rogers, Patrice Baumhardt, Kimberly Oldehoeft, Victor Kowalski, Agustin Ojeda, Tim Morgan, Juanita Losier, Jacquelyn Randolet, Cristhian Mace, Megan Doppler, Ellie Sheridan, Bret Moore, Kelly Ronald, Luke Tyrrell, Shannon Butler, Arden Blumenthal, Diana Pita, Deona Harris.
Former undergraduate honors students: Amy Stark, Amanda Elmore, Diana Pita, Claire Hosinski.
Former Post-docs: Amanda Ensminger, Jessica Yorzinski, Benny Goller.
Lab photo gallery
From the history vault...
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