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).

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.

Bruce Bryan
B.S. Marlboro College 2002 (Biology/Evolutionary Biology). "Investigations in Genetic conflict as evolutionary drive."

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. University of Tennessee 2004 (Ecology and French)
"Fossil pollen records forecast response of forests to hemlock woolly adelgid invasion" My research forcuses on the ecological and evolutionary consequences of species invasions. This work attempts to 1) understand the long-term impacts of species invasions on native biodiversity and ecosystems, 2) address theoretical and applied questions in ecology, and 3) utilize invasive species as a tool for conservation.

Jose Iriarte-Diaz
B.S., Biology, Universidad de Chile, 1998
M.S., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Universidad de Chile, 2003
My M.S. thesis was focused on the factors that determine the trot-gallop transition in rodents. Currently, I'm interested in how morphological and ecological aspects shape the locomotor performance in aerial and terrestrial mammals.

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






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 pursuing a comparative study focusing on the biomechanics of intervertebral joints across different swimming styles in fish. This project will focus on differences in morphology, material and structural properties, and bending mechanics of anguilliform, subcarangiform, and carangiform swimmers. The in vivo mechanics of the axial skeleton will be studied using the CTX technique that is being developed here at Brown University. In addition, I am also working on a project on the swimming mechanics of the Northern Spearnose Poacher. This project focuses primarily on how this negatively buoyant fish is able to counteract its weight in water at various heights in the water column. Finally, 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.

Seeta Sistla
BA Swarthmore College, 2004 Undergraduate thesis: "Regulation of the extent vascular re-differentiation around a vascular wound in Coleus blumei."
I am currently interested in studying the relationships between global change phenomenon and terrestrial ecosystem ecology, with particular emphasis in understanding the influence of climate change on biogeochemical processes.

Lucia Vivanco
2001 B.S. Universidad de Buenos Aires - Argentina (Biology and Ecology) “Tree identity and diversity effects on litter decomposition in natural temperate forest in Patagonia”.
I am interested in terrestrial ecosystem ecology, particularly in biodiversity effects on ecosystem processes. Currently, I have several experiments in the Patagonian forest (Argentina) where I am researching the effects of tree species identity and diversity on carbon and nutrient cycling.

Rebecca Wagaman






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