Lab Techbician 
Paleoecology & Biochronology Research Group

I am a mammalian paleontologist whose research focuses on the morphology and evolution of the otic region and its use in phylogenetic inference. I specialize in even-toed hoofed mammals (artiodactyls), but my interests extend to many other living and extinct groups. I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Oregon (USA) and published on the first mesonychid known from the John Day Fossil Beds. I then moved to Canada to earn my master’s degree at the University of Calgary where I studied the paleoecology of multituberculates, a group of early rodent-like mammals. I remained at the University of Calgary for my PhD and shifted my focus to artiodactyls, completing my thesis on the otic region of tylopods in 2024. During this time, I was a beneficiary of several funding opportunities including the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund (AMNH) and the Mary R. Dawson Predoctoral Fellowship Grant (SVP). After my PhD, I came to Germany and became a Guest Researcher at the Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels in Hamburg, a position that I continue to hold.   

I have developed proficiencies in several methods including µCT scanning, SEM, dental topographic analysis, microwear analysis, geometric morphometrics, and comparative phylogenetics. This skillset has enabled me to become a CT and Research Technician in the Paleoecology & Biochronology Research Group at the ICP. I am working for Dr. Ornella Bertrand through her Ramón y Cajal funding on a project examining the effects of ecology on the neuroanatomy of squirrels. Upon the completion of my position at the ICP, I will be starting a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at Naturalis (Netherlands).

Outside of my research, I am a proponent of science communication and professional service. I regularly participate in Skype a Scientist, and I am a long-standing committee member for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, including being co-chair of the Membership Committee and a past co-chair of the Student & Postdoctoral Liaison Committee.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4965-377X