Research Background

As a scientist with extensive training in behavioral endocrinology, animal behavior, microbial ecology, and evolutionary immunology, I developed a highly integrative research program that sought to answer core questions in animal ecology and evolution.

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The goal of my research was to investigate the causes and consequences of variation in mating behavior from both a proximate and an ultimate perspective. From a proximate perspective, I combined natural history observations and experimental manipulations to understand the physiological mechanisms and environmental conditions that influence mating strategies. From an ultimate perspective, I integrated experimental evolution, transcriptomic, and mathematical modeling approaches to discover the epidemiological dynamics and evolutionary mechanisms driving host and parasite fitness under different mating system regimes.