Henry Astley

B.S. Aerospace Eng., FIT '01
B.S. Biology, U. of Cincinnati '05
M.S. Biology, U. of Cincinnati '08
My interest is in the biomechanics of animal locomotion, especially the insights that can be gained from organisms with unusual body plans or extreme performance. My prior work examined the effects of habitat structure on arboreal snake locomotion, and I am currently examining the role of muscle-tendon systems in power amplification in frog jumping.

Joseph Bahlman

Alan O. Bergland
B.S. University of Oregon, (Biology and Philosophy) 2004.
Factors influencing the life-history and phenology of the pitcher plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii

L. Margarita (Maggy) Brandt
B.S. Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador (Applied Ecology), 2003.
I am interested in understanding the effect that marine biodiversity has on ecosystem functions at different trophic levels. Specifically, the effect that sea urchin, and predatory-snail diversity has on primary and secondary productivity. I am particularly interested in estimating how the structure of marine benthic communities in zones open and closed to fishing activities differ in terms of their resilience to disturbance, by understanding the degree at which marine species perform similar functions (redundancy).

Lindsay Brin

B.A. Swarthmore College (Biology and Environmental Studies), 2005. M.A. Boston University Marine Program (Biology), 2008. “Nitrogen retention and export in experimental salt marsh plots exposed to chronic nutrient addition.”

I am interested in the biogeochemistry of coastal systems, and, specifically, the environmental and anthropogenic controls that alter estuarine biogeochemical cycles. In my research, I take a broad ecological perspective on questions relevant to the reciprocal interaction between humans and our environment, while using a more detailed approach toward investigating the rules that define functioning of estuarine ecosystems at a very basic, chemical level. My dissertation work will focus on the role of temperature as a key driver of ecosystem processes along a latitudinal gradient. I will investigate how temperature regulates the magnitude and types of estuarine N cycling processes, by affecting both the rates of processes and the relative abundance of different functional groups within microbial communities.

Keryn Bromberg B.A. Tufts University (Biology and Environmental Studies), 2002.
"Effects of nitrogen availability on young gypsy moth larvae."
I am interested in the response of New England salt marshes to anthropogenic perturbations. New England salt marshes, like salt marshes in many other regions in the world, have a long history of human use and exploitation, including farming of salt hay, use as natural pasture, drainage for conversion to freshwater agriculture, filling to create upland space, and ditching for mosquito control. I am interested in the consequences of this history of human interaction for salt marsh species distributions, ecosystem processes, and ecological services. Remaining salt marshes in New England continue to provide crucial ecosystem services, as storm buffers, water filtration systems, nitrogen exporters, and carbon sinks. I am particularly interested in how global anthropogenic impacts, such as climate change and eutrophication will affect salt marsh ecosystems and the services they provide.

Jorn Cheney

Andrew Clifford
B.S., Ohio University, 2000. "Narial Novelty in Mammals: Case Studies and Rules of Construction"
M.S., Ohio University, 2003. "Proboscis-Building in Mammals: Case Studies and Rules of Construction."

John Cumbers
BSc Computer Science with Information Engineering, University of Hull, UK, 2004
2005 MSc Bioinformatics, University of Edinburgh, UK
My interests are in dissecting the mechanisms of aging. I hope to do this through the construction of gene regulatory networks from microarray and chip chip data and by modelling the processes that cause cellular degeneration. I hope to construct a model of insulin sensitivity in the fruit fly.

Patrick A. Flight



Nicholas J. Gidmark

Caroline J. Harper

B.A., Psychology Based Human Relations, Connecticut College, 2001.
M.S., Biology, UNC Wilmington, 2007. “Morphology of the Melon and its Tendinous Connections to the Facial Muscles in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).”


Shelby J. Hayhoe
I am interested in biogeochemical cycling, how this cycling affects ecosystem functioning, and what, then, happens with anthropogenic land use changes. I did my undergrad research in rural Iowa, an area that has seen some of the most rapid and complete land use change in the world, looking at nutrient loading in stream and lake systems. I have also worked in Brazil, a region under immense development pressure, for Chris Neill of MBL, who was looking at nutrients and hydrologic flowpaths in small streams, comparing catchments in tropical forest and pasture. Most recently, however, I worked as a consultant, conducting sampling of impaired waterbodies in Minnesota as well as working on hazardous material clean ups. My dissertation work will focus on the effects of forest and pasture conversion to intensive soybean agriculture in Brazil.

Matthew J. Heard
B.A. Honors Program: Ecology and French – University of Tennessee, 2004
Study Abroad – Universite de Savoie: Chambery, France, 2004
My research focuses on the impact of species invasions on native biodiversity. In particular, I'm interested in understanding how invasive species alter coastal plant communities across New England. Because these habitats exist at the marine-terrestrial interface, they are well positioned to have broad ecosystem effects. As such it is essential that we understand the long-term impact of species invasions in this system. Currently I'm using a combination of historical re-surveys, observational field studies, and experimental manipulations to pursue three main objectives: 1) to assess establishment patterns of invasive species in coastal plant communities, 2) to examine whether invasive species pose a direct threat to native diversity, and 3) to examine whether specific strategies targeted at controlling species invasions impede or facilitate native plant growth.

Robert Kambic
B.S., Biology, University of Maryland, College Park 2003
M.S., Earth Sciences, Montana State University 2008
My research interests are in theropod locomotion. Specifically, I am interested in hindlimb morphology and function in non-avian theropod dinosaurs. I am interested in the use of modern birds as proxies for extinct taxa and I anticipate studying kinematics in guineafowl as a major component of my dissertation. I come from a more geology and taphonomy oriented program and have conducted field work in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.

Erica Lasek-Nesselquist
B.A. 2002 (Biology) Smith College

Currently, my research includes examining the population genetics of the protistan parasite, Giardia intestinalis, which causes diarrhoeal disease in vertebrate hosts. Some of the questions I seek to answer are how Giardia populations change through time, the prevalence of Giardia in different environments, how Giardia is transmitted between different host species, and the contributions of human activity in making this a reemerging infectious disease. Towards these goals, I have categorized the molecular variation within and between Giardia populations and looked for evidence of sex as a role for creating variation and aiding in transmission. I have also explored the consequences of human activity in the spread of this organism by investigating the contamination of marine environments.


Yawei Luo
M.S. in Environmental Sciences, Peking Univeristy, 2003.
B.S. in Fishery, Ocean University of China, 2000
I am interested in mechanisms of global ocean carbon cycle and its relationship with climate change, and using 1-D biogeochemical model and data assimilation to solve the problems.


Kristen M.S. Myers

Bryan Nowroozi
B.A. University of California, Berkeley 2003
Currently I am focusing on the biomechanics of intervertebral joints in fishes during swimming and C-start escape responses. I am looking primarily at whether or not regional variation exists in the morphology and kinematics of intervertebral joints in Striped Bass. In addition, I am interested in the mechanical properties of the joints and the soft tissues that comprise them. The in vivo kinematics of the axial skeleton will be studied using the XROMM (x-ray reconstruction of moving morphology) technique that is being developed here at Brown University. In addition, I am beginning a side project focusing on the morphology and biomechanics of the knee joint in marsupials.

R. Matthew Ogburn

James Palardy
B.A. (Biology, Marine Science) University of Pennsylvania, 2004

I am currently involved in a series of projects designed to determine the relative contribution of heterotrophy to the coral diet under a wide range of environmental factors, including depth, temperature, and bleaching. Other interests include the effect of variability in oceanic processes, such as upwelling, on communities over large spatial and varying temporal scales, and the application of stable isotope biogeochemistry to ecological questions.

Lara G. Reichmann
B.S. (Ecology and Biology) Universidad de Buenos Aires – Argentina, 2003. I am interested in terrestrial ecosystem ecology, particularly in water-limited ecosystems. I am focused on how vegetation structure controls key processes of ecosystem function, such as Net Primary Production. To achieve this I plan to do field manipulation experiments in arid ecosystems.





top