Dr. TJ Firneno is joining the Larson Lab as an NSF postdoc to study field cricket hybrid zones. TJ is broadly interested in exploring the molecular mechanisms that drive diversification and speciation, promote and maintain biodiversity, and lead to the evolution of novel traits. To do this he integrates field work, natural history, museum science, genomic and other molecular laboratory methods, and computational biology. In the past TJ has used amphibians and reptiles as study systems to carry out his research; however, he is now switching out to their desired food source as a study system: crickets. When not in the lab, TJ enjoys hiking and taking in the outdoors, is a lover of the performing arts, and enjoys simply spending time with his partner and their three cat children. Follow TJ on Twitter: @SenorSapo28. Pronouns: he/him
Elise Gellman and Christina Maguire were each awarded Undergraduate Summer Research Grants from the Undergraduate Research Center to pursue their independent research projects on field crickets. Elise and Christina have been busy rearing crickets and learning new techniques in the lab.
Kelsie gave two awesome talks in the last few weeks. The first was about her work on hybridization in Colorado cottontails at the American Society of Mammalogists and the second was about patterns of gene expression in complex tissues at the Evolution meeting.
The lab got together for a brunch in the park to celebrate Uma’s graduation this week. Uma will be moving on to a PhD program in the awesome Kozak Lab. We are also saying goodbye to Clara who started a new job in environmental consulting here in Denver and Amy who is off to do summer field work in Pennsylvania.
Cottontail rabbit original by Kelsie Hunnicutt
Amy, Uma, Kelsie, Clara, Erica and Summer
Happy to be a part of this re-visit/tribute to Felsenstein 1981 in Evolution, lead by Roger Butlin, Maria Servedio and Carole Smadja.
Congratulations to Kelsie Hunnicutt, who was awarded the R.C. Lewontin Early Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution!
Uma Knaven was awarded a Grant in Aid of Research from Sigma Xi to support her undergraduate Honor’s thesis on cottontail mitochondrial DNA. This project is a collaboration with Kelsie Hunnicutt, who is leading the lab efforts to quantify population structure and hybridization among local cottontails. Congratulations Uma!
Erica and Kelsie reviewed Shrews, Chromosomes and Speciation edited by Jeremy B. Searle, P. David Polly and Jan Zima for Evolution. The review is online in early view.
Erica, Robin Tinghitella and Luana Maroja were awarded an NSF Rules of Life grant to study the evolution of variable species boundaries in field crickets. As part of our public education efforts, Julie Morris will be helping us organize Nature Challenges on singing insects. The team is excited to get started!
Congratulations to Brooke, who was awarded a Northwest Scientific Association Student Research Grant!. Brooke will use this grant to travel to the Washington (whenever travel restrictions are lifted) to collected red and black sticklebacks.
Congratulations to Amy who was awarded The Explorers Club Mamont Scholar Grant and an Orthopterists Society Theodore J. Cohn Research Award. Amy will use these grants to travel to Pennsylvania to collect crickets.
Congratulations to Kelsie, who was awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!
Erica and Kelsie were awarded a grant from Jefferson County to study three species of cottontail rabbit in the Denver area. This grant is a collaboration with Dr. John Demboski at the Denver Muesum of Nature and Science. Kelsie is ready to get to the DMNS and get started!
Congratulations to Brooke and Kelsie, who were both awarded the 2019 Society of Systematic Biologists Graduate Student Research Award.
Congratulations to Kelsie who was just awarded a grant from SICB.
Congratulations to Brooke who was just awarded a grant from Sigma Xi. Brooke is using her grant to travel to Washington this summer to collect sticklebacks.
Uma Knaven was just awarded a Partners in Scholarship (PinS) Award to support her research project with Kelsie Hunnicutt to sequence mitochondrial DNA in Denver rabbits.
