Our lab is a supportive environment where we strive to make high-quality science collaboratively and equitably.
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Dr. Mayra C. Vidal (she/hers)
Principal Investigator Assistant Professor, UMass Boston contact: [email protected], twitter: @mayracvidal I am an evolutionary ecologist with a focus on the ecology and evolution of species interactions. I investigate how interactions change over space and time and how the environmental and community contexts influence interaction outcomes. Ultimately, I am interested in understanding how species interactions play a role in the diversification of organisms. My specific research areas are insect-plant interactions, multi-trophic interactions, mutualistic and antagonistic interactions, exploitation of mutualism, coevolution, and global change. |
Dr. Cong Liu
Post-doctoral researcher, UMass Boston contact: [email protected], website: https://congliu0514.wixsite.com/mysite Cong completed his Ph.D at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University in Dr. Even Economo's lab exploring ant biodiversity across spatiotemporal scales, and master's studying fig-fig wasp interactions at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was recently a E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, working on ant diversity and coloration in Dr. Naomi Pierce's lab. Cong joined our lab to study mutualism coevolution and cheating. |
Dr. Mattheau Comerford
Post-doctoral researcher, UMass Boston, NSF PRFB Fellow contact: [email protected], website: mattheaucomerford.weebly.com Mattheau completed his Ph.D at Rice University in Dr. Scott Egan’s lab where he studied rapid contemporary evolution of the Anthropocene. In doing so, his work spanned a wide array of taxa under various forms of human mediated stressors. The focus of his past research has primarily centered around the red-shouldered soapberry bug’s evolution in response to anthropogenic drivers to climate and environmental change. As a postdoc, Mattheau is helping to lead projects on diet-breadth evolution of the fall webworm. The aim of these projects is to seek a greater understanding of the molecular components responsible for herbivore diet breadth evolution within the context of a greater ecological framework. He has a passion for teaching and outreach which he hopes to engage more fully during his time at the University of Massachusetts Boston. |
Billie Maguire
PhD student, UMass Boston, NSF GRFP Fellow contact: [email protected] Billie joined the lab in the Summer of 2022 after getting their BSc. in Biology from Georgetown University. During their undergrad, Billie worked on salt marshes, exploring the population genetics of a salt marsh insect herbivore. Billie is currently working on exploring diet breadth evolution of insect herbivores by employing genomic analyses and field experiments. Billie is currently being co-advised by Dr. Brook Moyers. |
Averie St. Germaine
PhD student, UMass Boston contact: [email protected] Averie joined the lab in the Fall of 2022 after getting her BSc. in Biology from UMass Boston in 2021 and working as a high school teacher from 2021 to 2022. For her honor's thesis, Averie investigated the color variation in sphinx moths. Averie is now interested in understanding how global changes influence species interactions. |
Emily Weintraub
PhD student, UMass Boston contact: [email protected] Emily joined the lab in Fall of 2023 after graduating from Wheaton College. She is interested in studying mutualisms, nectar yeast, and plant-insect interactions. |
Tyler Barr
Master's student, UMass Boston, NSF GRFP Fellow contact: [email protected] Tyler joined the lab in the Summer of 2021 after getting his BSc. in Biology from UMass Boston. He is currently working on figuring out how temperature and diet quality can interact to influence the coloration of the tobacco hornworm. Tyler is our computer expert! |
Alumni
*Students who have co-authored publications
# Students who have presented posters or given talks
$ Students who were funded intramurally
Matthew Tran #, Lab technician (and previously Independent Study Student and Honor's thesis)
AJ (Amira) Bailey #$, Undergraduate Researcher, PACE
Haley Salzarulo $, Undergraduate Lab Assistant
Kirsten Ward #, Independent Study Student and Honor's thesis
Leah Murphy $#, REU and CSM undergrad research fellow
Emma Schneider, Undergraduate Lab Assistant
Alexander Richards$, McNair Fellow
Oldsen Cherry$, McNair Fellow
# Students who have presented posters or given talks
$ Students who were funded intramurally
Matthew Tran #, Lab technician (and previously Independent Study Student and Honor's thesis)
AJ (Amira) Bailey #$, Undergraduate Researcher, PACE
Haley Salzarulo $, Undergraduate Lab Assistant
Kirsten Ward #, Independent Study Student and Honor's thesis
Leah Murphy $#, REU and CSM undergrad research fellow
Emma Schneider, Undergraduate Lab Assistant
Alexander Richards$, McNair Fellow
Oldsen Cherry$, McNair Fellow