People

Kate is interested in all things behavior, fish and variance partitioning. Kate did her B.S. (2006) at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and her Ph.D (2013) at the University of Illinois. After graduation, she moved to Berlin Germany where she worked at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology & Inland Fisheries until starting at UC Davis in 2019.

klaskowski@ucdavis.edu

Ammon is most interested in how individual behavioral decisions govern the formation of social groups, and vice versa. He completed his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania studying songbird courtship, and his current work focuses on the winner effect and social dominance in the Amazon mollies. Ammon loves rock climbing, dungeons and dragons, and automated tracking of animal behavior.

aperkes@ucdavis.edu

Ammon's website

Jay is broadly interested in the fuel of evolution: phenotypic variation. He studies the origins of variation, investigating how and why it's generated, maintained, and eroded, and the role that it plays in diversification. Jay currently uses the Amazon molly system to answer questions about the emergence of behavioral variation among individuals. He received his PhD in 2023 from the University of Denver in Robin Tinghitella's lab, where he studied the rapid diversification of novel mating songs in an island cricket. In his free time, Jay enjoys composing music, playing tennis, designing games, and eating delicious food.

jhgallagher@ucdavis.edu

Jay's website

Brian’s research attempts to draw deeper connections between ecology, evolution, and behavior, most often in the context of social or reproductive behavior. He primarily uses mathematical theory in his research. Before coming to Davis, he received his PhD from UNC Chapel Hill, working with Maria Servedio and Susan Alberts. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, and playing hockey.

blerch@ucdavis.edu

Brian's website

Broadly, Kirsten is interested in the variability and persistence of plastic behavior in both time and space. She is interested in understanding the mechanisms that drive variation in behavior and this variation may, in turn, impact the surrounding environment. Kirsten believes that without diversity, equity, and inclusion it is impossible to conduct good science. She is committed to utilizing activism and outreach to make academia accessible and welcoming to all people.

kasheehy@ucdavis.edu

Sanaa is interested in how environment and genetics influence decision making relating to social interactions. She hopes to explore female competition and aggression, as well as potential cooperative behavior in amazon mollies. She did her masters at NISER, India focusing on interspecific interactions between Streptomyces bacteria and termites. She has also worked on modelling cooperation in the context of biparental care. She enjoys reading science fiction and spending time with cats (dogs will also do in the absence of cats)!

sqkhan@ucdavis.edu

Siobhan is interested in how animals respond to social and environmental stimuli, starting on the molecular level and ultimately exploring physiological and behavioral outcomes. She is hoping to explore decision making processes, communication and signal formation, and social behaviors like cooperation and competition in the Amazon mollies. She is also hoping to learn more about science communication and how to make STEM fields more accessible for everyone. In her free time, she's usually baking, reading, or taking in the outdoors!

skcalhoun@ucdavis.edu

Max is excited to apply modern bioinformatics to the Amazon molly system in investigating genomic differentiation between clonal lines and patterns of historic introgression. He earned his undergraduate degree in Biology at Texas A&M University and has background in studying hybridization in Xiphophorus swordtails with the Rosenthal Lab and the application of phylogenetic comparative methods to study sex chromosome evolution with the Blackmon Lab. He has a deep love for computational evolutionary biology, travel, and inclusive science!

mzchin@ucdavis.edu

Max's personal website

Abby is broadly interested in the neural mechanisms that underly behavior, particularly in social situations.  She is passionate about creating an inclusive, diverse and safe space to conduct science.  In her free time, she loves to spend time with animals, be in nature, swim, and listen to music.

atrocinski@ucdavis.edu

Emma is studying Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. She is interested in exploring the ways that environmental factors give rise to physiological and behavioral variation. Outside of research and academics, she enjoys knitting, working out, drawing, and spending time with her bearded dragon.

email: ekyamamoto .at. ucdavis dot edu

Aarav is majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular biology. He is very excited to be working on using machine learning to track fish behavior. During his free time, he likes to watch sports, go to the gym, play video games, and watch movies with his friends.

email: arvsharma .at. ucdavis dot edu

Raine is an Art Studio and Biological Sciences double major interested in the intersection of science and art. He entered the lab as an EVE scholar studying visual acuity in the Amazon, Atlantic, and Sailfin mollies. Outside of the lab, Raine is always working on an art project to add to his hobby pile!

dakosoff@ucdavis.edu

Emily is studying Biological Sciences on the pre-med track. She is very excited to be working on projects investigating animal behavior and social interaction. Outside of research and academics, Emily enjoys reading, hiking/working out, baking, and spending time with her twin sister!

esbarron@ucdavis.edu

Aditya is majoring in Human Biology. He's thrilled to be contributing to research and is super excited to learn more about everything evolution related! He is also hoping to make science more approachable and easy to understand for everyone. Outside of the lab, he loves Chipotle, reading books, and all things aviation.

abhaskara@ucdavis.edu

Scarlet is a Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology major with minors in Studio Art and Comparative Literature. They're interested in the intersection between animal behavior and conservation efforts. In their free time, they like to pick up new hobbies, read, and spend time with neighborhood cats.

snakadegawalee@ucdavis.edu