
Current
Kelly R. Zamudio
Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, UT Austin. Endowed Fellow, Doherty Chair in Molecular Biology. kelly.zamudio (at) austin (dot) utexas (dot) edu

My research is in the fields of population biology, population genetics, systematics, and the genetics of conservation. I am particularly interested in the links between patterns of geographic genetic differentiation and attributes of the ecology and life history of organisms such as mating systems, dispersal, and demography. In my research I combine field and laboratory (molecular) approaches to answer questions about organisms, their environments, and their histories.
Chloé Allen
PhD student at UT Austin, arriving Fall 2023

Chloé will be joining us in Fall 2023! As an undergraduate she explored immunological responses to parasites in toads. But she has many areas of interest to explore when she arrives at UT!
Rebecca Clemons
PhD student at UT Austin; rclemons(at)utexas(dot)edu

I am interested in wildlife disease ecology with a focus on the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. This pathogen threatens amphibians worldwide, and is an exciting opportunity to study a fungus that infects vertebrates. I want to know what genetic factors drive host susceptibility and pathogen virulence, and how those factors impact one another. Ultimately, I would like my research to contribute to the conservation of threatened amphibian species.
Céline Carneiro
PhD student at UT Austin; celine.c(at)utexas(dot)edu

I am interested in exploring how environmental change will influence population dynamics and adaptive potential of amphibians. Specifically, I want to identify important genomic drivers of resilience, or lack thereof, in amphibians threatened by altered landscapes and climate change. My goal to use contemporary and historic data to predict future population dynamics as environmental threats progress over time.
Britt White
PhD student at UT Austin; bawhite(at)utexas.edu; co-advised by Justin Havird

My research focuses on adaptive genetic variation across landscapes, and the influence of gene flow, on phenotypic diversification. I use phylogenetics, biogeography, and landscape genetics to study variation in amphibians and reptiles. Specifically, my dissertation research focuses on signal color polymorphisms across the range of desert tree lizards (Urosaurus ornatus).
Maria Akopyan
PhD candidate at Cornell University; ma2256(at)cornell(dot)edu; co-advised by Nina Overgaard-Therkildsen

I am broadly interested in ecological and evolutionary genomics, with a focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying adaptation and divergence in natural populations of vertebrate species. Currently, I am working on characterizing the genomic architecture of local adaptation with gene flow in Atlantic silversides. Specifically, I am describing structural variation between locally adapted populations and identifying genomic regions that underlie adaptive traits. My goal is to understand the roles of ongoing genetic adaptation and distribution shifts in promoting species persistence in our rapidly changing world. [Maria’s Website]
David Chang Van Oordt
PhD candidate at Cornell University; dac385(at)cornell(dot)edu; co-advised by Maren Vitousek

I am interested in how infectious diseases play a role in host population dynamics and how hosts respond to pathogens to offset costs of infection. My research focuses on how individual variation in pathogen resistance affects a bird’s ability to survive, reproduce and migrate; and how this ultimately affects parasite transmission across scales. I study Avian Malaria in temperate and tropical swallows to see how different birds use different strategies to cope with infectious diseases.
Anat Belasen
NSF Post-doctoral Fellow, UT Austin; abelasen(at)utexas.edu

I am interested in the evolutionary and genetic mechanisms behind variation in disease susceptibility in vulnerable wildlife host species. For my postdoc research, I plan to investigate the genetic mechanisms of susceptibility/resistance to the frog pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). I will identify candidate resistance genes and evaluate whether evolutionary changes have occurred in these genes following Bd epizootics. By identifying the genetic mechanisms of Bd resistance, we can more effectively mitigate and predict future Bd outbreaks. [Anat’s Website]
KZLab Alumni






Post Docs:
- Lina Arcila Hernandez, Post-doctoral Fellow, UC Santa Cruz
- Nicole Chodkowski, Visiting Assistant Professor, Lawrence University
- Cissy Ballen, Assistant Professor, Auburn University
- Nick Polato, Master Baker, Wide Awake Bakery, Ithaca, NY
- Amy Ellison, Research Associate, Cardiff University
- David Rodriguez, Assistant Professor, Biology, Texas State University
- Dan Ilut, Research Support Specialist, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell
- Karen Kiemnec-Tyburczy, Assistant Professor, Humboldt State University
- Guillermo Velo-Antón, Researcher, CIBIO-InBIO – Universidade do Porto
- Cinthia A. Brasileiro, Professor, UNIFESP Diadema, Brazil
- Jonathan Q. Richmond, Geneticist, USGS
- Cynthia Prado, Professor, UNESP Jaboticabal, Brazil
- James Austin, Associate Professor, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida
- Ania Wieczorek, Professor, Extension Specialist, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Ph.D. Graduates:
- Jordan Garcia, Advisor, McNair Scholars Program, University of Northern Colorado
- Cinnamon Mittan, Post-doc, Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University
- Coby McDonald, Post-doc, Colorado State University
- Rayna Bell, Curator of Amphibians, California Academy of Sciences
- Guilherme Becker, Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University
- Ana Longo, Assistant Professor, Biology, University of Florida
- Anna Savage, Associate Professor, Biology, Central Florida University
- Kurt Galbreath, Associate Professor, Biology, Northern Michigan University
- Jeanne Robertson, Associate Professor, Biology, Cal State Northridge
- Lauren Chan, Associate Professor, Pacific University
Researchers and Visiting Scholars
- Carla Martins Lopes, Post-doc, UNESP Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
- Miranda Gray, Science Educator, Queen’s Botanical Garden
- Fabio Perin de Sá, PhD Student, UNESP Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
- Renato Nali, UNESP Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
- Gabriel Faggioni, Universidade Federal Mato Grosso do Sul
- Thais Condez, UNESP Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
- Amanda Santiago Lantyer Silva, UNESP Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
- Valorie Titus, Assistant Professor, Green Mountain College
- Juliana Zina, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia – UESB
- Tereza Thomé, UNESP Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
- Christine Voyer, Science Education, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Undergrads
- Randy Arnold
- Brianna Mims, Grad, UMich Ann Arbor
- Alison Haigh
- Sean McHugh, Grad, Wash U.
- Joe Barron, Grad, Virginia Tech
- Jalia Dash, Research Tech, Weill Cornell Medicine
- Marina Hydeman, Science Education, San Francisco
- Mike Yuan, Grad, UC Berkeley
- Karen Tracy, Grad UC Davis
- Pavitra Muralhidar, Grad Harvard
- Melissa Lenker, Env. Analyst, MASS-DOT
- Adriana Gata-Garcia
- Iris Holmes, Grad U Michigan
- Michael Gründler Grad U Michigan
- Tina Barbasch, Grad Boston U
- Michelle Ohmer, Post-Doc, U Pittsburg
- Sarah Fitzpatrick, Assistant Prof, Kellogg Biological Station
- Eric Rittmeyer
- Katie Duryea, Instructor, Great Basin College
- Leyla Davis
- Amanda Talaba
- Jason Ortega, Grad U Arkansas
- Christopher Chandler, Associate Prof, SUNY Oswego
- Duncan Reid, MD, Seattle, WA
- Ian Wang, Assistant Prof, UC Berkeley
- Erin Myers
- Jacob Tennessen, Researcher, Harvard School Public Health
- Shannon Hedtke, Research Fellow, La Trobe University
- Wesley Savage, Instructor, UMass Lowell
- Chris Jennings
- Amber Wright, Assistant Prof, U Hawaii, Manoa
- Kristie Steuer, DVM, Laramie


