Angela Adjei
Angela was a Cal Academy Summer Systematics Institute Intern with the Bell Lab, working with Dr. Rayna Bell and Dr. Ryan Schott to describe the genetic diversity of vision genes in Sideneck Turtles and how they compare to other turtles and reptiles. Angela finished up her Biology degree at Georgia State University and is pursuing an M.S. in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University!
Arlene Vargas
Arlene was a Cal Academy Summer Systematics Institute Intern in the 2023 cohort. She used genetic and morphological methods to investigate cryptic species of African amphibians (genus Leptopelis) in the Academy’s Herpetology collections. Arlene completed her B.S. in Wildlife Management and Conservation at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt and is an intern with the Center for Whale Research!
Ashmika Behere
Ashmika was a Natural History Research Experience intern at the National Museum of Natural History in summer 2020 in the Bell and McGowen labs. She worked with Dr. Ryan Schott to examine the evolution of visual genes in caecilians. Ashmika finished up her B.S. in Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology at the University of Kansas. Ashmika joined Dr. Tony Gamble’s lab at Marquette University!
Avery Williams
Avery was a science illustration intern in the Bell Lab, working on illustrations of larval frogs from the Gulf of Guinea Islands. She completed her Certificate in Scientific Illustration from California State University, Monterey Bay and currently works for the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i for the Division of Aquatic Resources!
Caitlyn Rich
Caitlyn completed her B.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz and joined the Bell Lab as a post-bac volunteer. Her research project focused on the diversity and evolution of pupil shape across amphibians. Caitlyn is currently working with the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Department and applying to graduate school!
Chloé Allen
Chloé was an intern in the Summer Systematics Institute in the 2022 cohort. She used genetic and morphological methods to investigate cryptic species of African amphibians (genus Phrynobatrachus) in the Academy’s Herpetology collections. Chloé completed her B.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at University of North Georgia and joined Dr. Kelly Zamudio’s lab at the University of Texas, Austin in fall 2023!
Dr. Daniel Portik
Dan was a postdoc in the Bell Lab at the California Academy of Sciences. Dan’s research focuses on the comparative population genomics of African amphibians but his interests span from organismal biology and natural history to phylogeography and macroevolutionary diversification. Dan also develops bioinformatic pipelines for phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses. Dan is currently a Bioinformatician at Pacific Biosciences!
Dr. Danielle Rivera
Danielle was a postdoc with the Bell Lab and Dr. Nathan Hostetter and Dr. Jaime Collazo at North Carolina State University in the USGS Co-Op. Her postdoctoral research involved assessing the taxonomy and genetic diversity of Spondylurus skinks across Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in support of a species status assessment for the Endangered Species Act. Danielle is now a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Tonia Schwartz at Auburn University!
Dr. Edward Myers
Ed was a Peter Buck and Walter Rathbone Bacon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Bell and de Queiroz labs at the NMNH. His postdoc research focused on using spatially explicit phylogeographic models to test alternative hypotheses regarding species diversification within the savannas of South America. Ed completed a postdoc in Dr. Chris Parkinson’s Lab at Clemson University and is now a Research Scientist at the California Academy of Sciences!
Dr. Grace Capshaw
Grace was a Smithsonian Institution graduate fellow based in the Bell Lab at the NMNH summer 2018. She examined variation and evolution in the auditory system of Plethodontid salamanders using the NMNH’s new microCT scanner. Grace completed her PhD in Dr. Catherine Carr’s lab at the University of Maryland, College Park and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University!
Dr. Ivan Prates
Ivan was a Smithsonian Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow based in the Bell + de Queiroz Labs at the NMNH. His postdoctoral research focused on comparative genomics, historical biogeography, and sexual signal evolution in Amazonian anole lizards. Ivan completed a postdoc in Dr. Dan Rabosky’s Lab at the University of Michigan and is now a postdoc at Lund University working with Dr. Nathalie Feiner!
John (Jack) Boyette
Jack was an intern in the NSF-REU Natural History Research Experience program at the National Museum of Natural History in the Bell Lab for summer 2019 and the California Academy of Sciences in summer 2020. He continued his work with postdoc Dr. Ryan Schott on molecular evolution of non-visual opsins across the frog tree of life while completing his Biology & Animal Science degree at Berry College. Jack joined Dr. Gui Becker’s lab at Penn State University in fall 2021!
John Nguyen
John was an intern in the 2021 California Academy of Sciences Summer Systematics Institute. He worked with Dr. Rayna Bell to determine if reed frogs are hybridizing on Bioko Island in the Gulf of Guinea archipelago. John’s honor’s thesis research at Columbia University leveraged museum specimens to investigate the prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in West Africa’s amphibians. John completed his B.S. in Environmental Biology at Columbia University, is a 2023–2024 RaMP-UP Fellow with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and joins Dr. Adam Stuckert’s lab at University of Houston in fall 2024 !
Jonathan Huie
Jonathan was an intern in the NSF-REU Natural History Research Experience program at the National Museum of Natural History in the Bell + de Queiroz Labs for summer 2018. He worked with postdoc Dr. Ivan Prates on morphological diversification in South American anoles. Jonathan joined Dr. Sandy Kawano’s Lab at George Washington University in fall 2020!
Joseph Wu
Joseph was a scientific illustration intern in the 2023 Summer Systematics Institute cohort. He illustrated a newly described species of reed frog, designed a beautiful logo for the Academy’s Center for Comparative Genomics, and produced figures for a eBook on vision biology. He is a master's student at UC Riverside where he is examining the biomechanics of obstacle navigation in cursorial geckos!
Dr. Kevin Mulder
Kevin was a Smithsonian Institution predoctoral fellow based in the Bell Lab at NMNH + Fleischer Lab at NZP. His fellowship research focused on the genetic basis of convergent evolution from larviparity to pueriparity in Iberian fire salamanders. Kevin finished up his PhD at the University of Porto, completed postdoctoral research at CIBIO in Portugal and the California Academy of Sciences. Kevin is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ghent!
Kyle Jaynes
Kyle was an intern in the NSF-REU Natural History Research Experience program at the National Museum of Natural History in the Bell Lab for summer 2017 and continued his research on Leptopelis tree frogs as his senior research project at Adrian College. Kyle joined Dr. Sarah Fitzpatrick’s lab at Michigan State University in fall 2018!
Dr. Kyle O’Connell
Kyle was a Global Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow in the Bell Lab at the NMNH. His postdoctoral research used museum samples and genomic techniques to understand demographic shifts of Appalachian salamander communities. Kyle completed a second postdoc at George Washington University in Dr. Alex Pyron’s lab and is now a Data Scientist at Deloitte!
Maya Woolfolk
Maya was an intern in the NSF-REU Natural History Research Experience program at the National Museum of Natural History in the Bell Lab for summer 2018. She worked with postdoc Dr. Ryan Schott on molecular evolution of vision genes in frogs. Maya joined Dr. Hopi Hoekstra’s Lab at Harvard University in fall 2020!
Dr. Michael Yuan
Michael was a Smithsonian Institution graduate fellow in summer 2017 and a predoctoral fellow in 2018 based in the Bell + de Queiroz Labs at the NMNH. Michael completed his PhD at UC Berkeley on genetic and phenotypic convergence in Lesser Antillean anoles, completed a Center for Population Biology Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis, and is now a postdoc at the California Academy of Sciences!
Dr. Molly Womack
Molly was a Peter Buck and Secretary’s Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in the de Queiroz + Bell Labs at the NMNH. Her postdoctoral research leveraged museum collections to investigate the reduction of the tympanic middle ear in tetrapods. Molly started a faculty position at Utah State University in fall 2020 and joins Cornell University’s department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2024!
Nicole Bednarik
Nicole joined the Bell Lab in summer 2022 as an intern supported by the Jan Serie Fellowship from Macalester College. Her research focused on the diversity and evolution of salamander eye size and their link to ecological factors. Nicole completed her B.A. in Biology at Macalester College and is an intern in Herpetology at Archbold Biological Station in Florida!
Phoebe Hall
Phoebe joined the lab in Summer 2020 for her University of Chicago Metcalf Internship. She worked with Dr. Ryan Schott on molecular evolution of phototransduction genes across the frog tree of life. Phoebe finished up her Biological Sciences degree at the University of Chicago and works at a biotech start-up!
Rachel Quock
Rachel completed her B.S. in Microbial Biology at the University of California Berkeley and joined the Bell Lab as a post-bac volunteer. Her research project focused on the diversity and evolution of pupil shape across amphibians. Rachel completed her M.S. in Biology in Dr. Ravinder Sehgal’s Lab at San Francisco State University!
Dr. Ryan Schott
Ryan was a postdoctoral researcher in the Bell Lab at the NMNH. His research involved all things genomics related to our collaborative NSF-NERC grant to study vision across the frog tree of life. Ryan's Ph.D. research focused on the evolution of visual systems in squamate reptiles (lizards + snakes), and especially on evolutionary transitions between rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina. Ryan started a faculty position at York University in Canada in winter 2021!
Dr. Segun Oladipo
Segun visited the Bell Lab from Kwara State University, Nigeria. His research focuses on documenting vertebrate biodiversity in both terrestrial and aquatic environments in Nigeria. During his visit to the Academy, Segun worked in the Center for Comparative Genomics and Herpetology Department on the taxonomy and systematics of Hemidactylus geckoes in Nigeria.
Type Locality Project Interns!
Greg Steffensen (left), Cerrie Mendoza (right), and Joseph Barron (not pictured, center is my former housemate Sylvain) were part of our Smithsonian Global Genome Initiative funded project to collect genomic quality samples from salamander type localities in Virginia. They helped with fieldwork, lab work and museum curation. Cerrie is an admissions counselor at Eastern Mennonite University, Greg works in private industry (vaccine development) and Joe is a graduate student in Dr. Carola Haas and Dr. Emmanuel Frimpong's labs at Virginia Tech!