OSyM Participants

    • Type of Researcher
    Members
    Emily Hall
    Organismal Biologist
    Postdoctoral Researcher
    Vanderbilt University Medical Center
    emily.m.hall@vanderbilt.edu
    Research Summary

    I study developmental plasticity and immunity trade-offs in amphibians.


    Biographical Info

    As a conservation physiologist, I’m interested in understanding how organisms cope with change.


    Rehan Ul Haq
    Modeler, Organismal Biologist
    Assistant Professor
    University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
    Department of Wildlife and Ecology
    rehan.haq@uvas.edu.pk
    Website
    Twitter
    Research Summary

    Quantitative Ecology
    Effects of environmental changes on wildlife - In fact, my Ph.D. research was on the effects of climatic, hydrological, and land-use changes on waterbirds
    Wildlife population models


    Biographical Info

    I am working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. My undergraduate degree is Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore Pakistan. LaterI did M. Phil. in Wildlife and Ecology from the same university. In Dec, 2018, I completed PhD from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.In 2016, I completed an Erasmus+ mobility at University of Granada, Spain. I have worked with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)at the Regional Office of the Asia and Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand) , AIT Solutions (A research and business center of AIT), and as a visiting lecturer at the Mahidol University International College (MUIC), Thailand. My research interests are wildlife ecology, statistical modelling, wildlife behavior, forestry, and wildlife crimes. I am trained in wildlife modeling techniques using R statistical software.


    Cheryl Hayashi
    Organismal Biologist
    Curator, Professor, and Leon Hess Director of Comparative Biology Research
    American Museum of Natural History
    chayashi@amnh.org
    Biographical Info

    Cheryl Hayashi is a Hawaii-born biologist who is curator, professor, and Director of Comparative Biology Research at the American Museum of Natural History. She specializes in the genetic structure of spider silk. A Yale alumnus, she was previously a professor at University California Riverside, and was a 2007 MacArthur Fellow.


    Keywords: spiders, silk, gene family, functional genomics, proteomics
    Jessica Hite
    Modeler, Organismal Biologist
    NIH Postdoctoral Fellow
    University of Nebraska-Lincoln and The National Institutes of Health
    Cressler Lab
    jhite2@unl.edu
    jessicahite.com
    Twitter
    Research Summary

    A central focus of my research is to connect individual-level processes to population-level outcomes. These cross-scale interactions are key to understanding things like eco-evolutionary dynamics, shifts in demography, population stability, and disease outbreaks. Moreover, connecting multiple scales of biological organization is proving increasingly crucial for addressing public health challenges such as the development of “evolution-proof” strategies to slow the evolution of virulence and antibiotic resistance.

    My research program emphasizes the use of multi-disciplinary and quantitative approaches to science. My research lies at the interface of three traditionally separate bodies of research: consumer-resource ecology, physiology, and evolutionary epidemiology. I work within several focal systems and have developed collaborations with mathematicians, physiologists, ecologists, and conservation managers. Working across disciplines helps me think ‘outside the box’ and develop a unique skillset in meditating across multi-disciplinary teams.

    My aim is that by bringing a theory-guided approach and an ecological lens to these important questions, the Hite lab will become a leader in translational research. To test (and advance) theory, my research program uses a variety of lab-based and natural systems as case-studies including freshwater zooplankton and fruit flies and both bacterial and fungal pathogens.


    Biographical Info

    I am a quantitative eco-evolutionary biologist. My research lies at the interface of physiology, ecology, and evolutionary epidemiology. Broadly, I study how ecological variation shapes the interaction between individual life histories and the dynamics of populations and communities.

    My approach integrates empirical and observational data with innovative statistical approaches (e.g., machine learning) and mathematical modeling. I use theory from population ecology and evolutionary epidemiology as a guide to develop and test general, yet mechanistic models that advance multiple fields.


    Jason Hodin
    Organismal Biologist
    Senior Research Scientist
    University of Washington
    Friday Harbor Labs
    hodin@uw.edu
    my professional website
    Research Summary

    For the past 10 years, my main focus has been on metamorphosis in the ocean, a process that has evolved numerous times in animals and non-animals. Across kingdoms, planktonic propagules face similar challenges: surviving (and in some cases growing) util they reach a "competent" stage to transform into juveniles, identification of suitable juvenile habitat when they arrive there, deciding whether to settle therein or wait for a potentially higher quality settlement habitat, and accomplishing the transformation itself. I use the word "challenges" here purposefully, as these early life stages need to function effectively as larvae and then make instantaneous decisions to abandon that life stage, undergoing what can be profound physiological and morphological changes into a benthic juvenile stage. A detailed understanding of this common yet diverse life cycle transformation that occurs at metamorphosis in marine organisms is not merely an intriguing cross-disciplinary problem, it represents a major knowledge gap that limits our understanding of and ability to predict trends in marine populations. In the face of profound anthropogenic ocean change, increasing our knowledge of these issues will be a key piece in our efforts to protect threatened marine ecosystems.


    Biographical Info

    I am broadly interested in the nexus of ecology, development and evolution. Specifically. I am fascinated by how organisms assess their internal and external environments to make informed, consequential life history decisions. To me, the ultimate example of this phenomenon is metamorphosis, a process that has evolved numerous times in both animals and non-animals. I have studied the internal mechanics of metamorphosis –where developmental changes underlie both subtle and profound evolutionary change– and how marine larvae evaluate their external environment in order to increase their very long odds of recruitment into adult populations. I am committed to addressing climate change, which I have done largely through educational outreach.


    Luis Hurtado
    Modeler, Organismal Biologist
    Undergraduate Student
    Texas A&M University
    luisalejohurtado@tamu.edu
    Research Summary

    I am interested in using spatial and genetic data to answer biogeographic questions.


    Biographical Info

    Undergraduate student studying Ecology & Conservation Biology and Entomology at Texas A&M University.


    John Hutchinson
    Biomechanic, Modeler, Organismal Biologist
    Professor
    Royal Veterinary College
    Structure & Motion Lab, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences
    jhutchinson@rvc.ac.uk
    RVC homepage
    Twitter
    Research Summary

    Professor Hutchinson has worked on extant and extinct animals ranging from birds and crocodiles to elephants and many other mammals as well as extinct dinosaurs and early tetrapods. John uses a combination of theoretical and experimental techniques, from motion analysis or XROMM and force platforms to simple 2D static mechanics or complex 3D fully dynamic computer simulations.


    Biographical Info

    John Hutchinson is a Professor of Evolutionary Biomechanics. John's research straddles the fields of evolutionary biology and biomechanics, with an emphasis on how very large animals stand and move and how locomotion evolved in different groups of land vertebrates. He is an American biologist who found a new home in the UK as a dual citizen. He gained a BS degree in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin in 1993, then received a PhD in Integrative Biology at the University of California with Kevin Padian in 2001, and rounded out his training with a two-year National Science Foundation bioinformatics Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Biomechanical Engineering Division of Stanford University with Scott Delp. John started at the Royal Veterinary College as a Lecturer in Evolutionary Biomechanics in 2003 in the Department of Veterinary Basic Sciences (now Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences), in 2008 became a Reader, and in 2011 became a full Professor.


    Angela Jones
    Ecomechanic, Organismal Biologist
    Graduate Student
    Northeastern University
    jones.ang@northeastern.edu
    Research Summary

    I am a doctoral student in the Marine and Environmental Sciences at Northeastern University. My interests are in functional micromorphology and of invertebrates in the rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal, specifically Asteroids and subsequent trophic cascades across species environmental gradients. My previous work focused on intertidal ecosystems in Northern California. In my undergraduate, I worked on biodiversity of invertebrates and algae in the rocky intertidal spanning fifteen sites. During this time, I also monitored Sea Star Wasting Disease in the sea star Leptasterias spp in the laboratory and in all local species in the field.
    My master’s work, was focused on aboral spine variation in the keystone predator Pisaster ochraceus, the ochre sea star, across environmental gradients with locations from Washington to Northern California. That project molded a lot of my current interests of blending natural history and modern technology including field assays, histology, scanning electron microscopy, micro CT scanning, and more.
    Overall, my interests and experiences vary across intertidal and subtidal habitats to understand ecological relevance of organismal variation. In the Helmuth lab, I hope to continue rigorous science, but also connect with the community and synthesize the information for public consumption. Ideally, this is done with the hopes of making science more accessible, entertaining, and approachable for all.


    Biographical Info

    I received my Bachelors in Zoology and Masters of Biology from California Polytechnic Humboldt. I am currently obtaining my doctorate in Marine and Environmental Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.