My current research focuses on how the brain of the orb-weaving spider Uloborus diversus encodes and produces this remarkable sequence of stereotyped, yet flexible, behaviors that result in the intricate structure that is the spider's web. What are the 'rules' in the brain that govern the different web-building stages, and how are they modified by changes in the environment or in the internal state of the animal? I am using pharmacological, genetic, behavior tracking and modeling approaches to address these questions.

I am a neuroscientist interested in how animals sense and interact with their environment. I earned my PhD in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where I worked in the lab of Dr. Chris Potter on the neurogenetics of olfactory signaling in flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and mosquitoes (Anopheles coluzzii). I am currently a Postdoc in Biology in the lab of Dr. Andrew Gordus at Johns Hopkins University, working on the neural basis of spider web-building behavior. I am interested in incorporating modeling to understand both neural circuits in the brain and motor behaviors of the spider.

Our research focuses on biochemical adaptation of marine organisms to environmental stress, including temperature, osmotic, pH, and hypoxic stress. My research group is interested how food availability affects the stress proteome response through the signaling networks of sirtuins, NAD-depedent deacylase, which are key regulators of energy homeostasis and the oxidative stress response. While we focus on biochemical changes, we also aim to integrate across various levels of biological organization, including cells, organ (tissues), behavior and whole organism level.

1. APPOINTMENTS
Professor: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2017-Present
Associate Professor: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2011-2017
Assistant Professor: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2005 – 2011
2. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Postdoctoral Researcher: Proteomics (Dr. Kültz), University of California, Davis, 2003 – 2005
Postdoctoral Researcher: Biochemical Adaptation (Dr. Somero), Stanford, 1999 –2003
3. EDUCATION
Ph.D.: Oregon State University, Corvallis, Zoology, 1999 (Dr. G. Somero)
MS, BS: University of Konstanz, Germany, Biology, 1995 (Dr. M. Simon)

My research focuses on control of crustacean reproduction related to hormones and stress (physiological, thermal, density).

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During my career up until recently, I have been focusing on how animals respond to environmental stressors and how their responses are shaped by developmental environments. However, as several reviews pointed out, how animals respond to stressors and their fitness outcome depends on multiple factors, making it difficult to develop a predictive model of stress and consequences. Recently, I have developed a theoretical model of stress called Damage-Fitness Model which aimed to circumvent the context dependency of stress responses and focus on downstream effects of stress responses. My goal of the next few years is to turn this theoretical model into a mathematical model. Because I have no training in modeling, I have started some collaboration towards this goal and this workshop will help provide necessary background in modeling to pursue this goal even further.

Our lab studies how animals modify their phenotypes in response to environmental cues through phenotypic flexibility and developmental plasticity. Recently, we are interested in physiological mechanisms behind stress resilience and the role developmental environment plays in building stress resilience later in life. My training is in neuroendocrine response to stress and our lab is expanding our exploration into cellular stress responses, including heat shock proteins and antioxidants.

Environmental variability can range from daily to decadal time scales. Many forms of environmental variability shape ecosystems, and, consequently, the human communities that depend on them. Understanding this variability and managing in the face of uncertainty is critical for ecosystem management. This is especially true in the context of climate change, where many environmental factors (e.g. droughts) are expected to intensify and occur more regularly. Dr. White's work focuses on these ideas in the context of species monitoring and the management of ecosystems, including coral reef fisheries.

Dr. Easton White is a quantitative ecologist working to solve problems in ecology, conservation, sustainability, and ecosystem management. His current projects include designing protected area networks, optimizing species monitoring, and modeling coupled socio-ecological systems. He is a Research Associate in the Biology Department at the University of Vermont. You can read more about his work on his website: https://eastonwhite.github.io/

I study how thermal variability impacts phenotype and fitness across taxa and focus on temperature-dependent physiology during formative life history stages, namely development and reproduction. My research provides critical insight into the mechanisms that may underlie responses to climate change by enhancing the resolution with which we understand the impact of temperature on organisms.

I am an eco-physiologist broadly interested in how the environment generates phenotypic diversity. My research focuses on how temperature mean and variation affects physiology and behavior across an individual’s lifetime. I currently work as an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Tennessee and utilize dung beetles as a model system of developmental plasticity.

My current postdoctoral research is focused on the kinematics of fish locomotion and integrates electromyography, 3D videography, and field observations to better understand the biomechanics and physiology of propulsion and intermittent locomotion in Bluegill Sunfish.

I am interested in the functional, ecological, and evolutionary morphology of organisms and how scientific modeling (e.g., 3D imaging and biomechanical modeling) aids in untangling the complexity intrinsic to the interaction between organisms and their environment. To pursue these interests, I studied the explanatory role and power of scientific models in functional morphology by completing an M.A. thesis in the philosophy of science. With a firm theoretical understanding of model building and deployment, I then studied the functional, ecological, and evolutionary morphology of Sea Lampreys for a Ph.D. in comparative anatomy under the guidance of Dr. Dominique G. Homberger at LSU, Baton Rouge. Through my Ph.D. research, I integrated field observations of spawning Sea Lampreys with an anatomical analysis of their trunk musculature by using microdissection, histology, and 3D imaging based on MRI to develop biomechanical models of trunk bending involved in locomotion. Since biomechanical models based on anatomical and behavioral data must be tested with physiological data about kinematics and muscle performance, after completing my Ph.D. in December 2019, I began post-doctoral research in January 2020 on Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis microchirus) to learn fish biomechanics, muscle physiology, electromyography, and field videography techniques under the guidance of Dr. Dave Ellerby at Wellesley College, MA. Upon completion of my post-doctoral research, I will use my broad training in comparative anatomy and physiology to develop a research program that integrates anatomy, physiology, and field observations to study the interplay between the structure and function of organisms.