THE AMPHIBIAN DREAM TEAM

  • Adam Stuckert

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

    Adam is a biologist that uses an integrative research approach to understand the ecology, evolution, and genomics of complex phenotypes in natural systems.  His work largely focuses on the evolution and maintenance of aposematism, the combination of a bright, conspicuous appearance with secondary defenses. Much of his ongoing research takes an ecological genomics approach to understand the mechanisms underlying divergent color and patterns, the sequestration of defensive chemicals, and the relationship between them.

  • Ashley Dye

    GRADUATE STUDENT (PhD)

    Ashley is interested in the evolution of color vision and population genetics of poison frogs. She received her Master’s at East Carolina University where she worked in Kyle Summers’ lab to investigate gene flow, population structure, and color production in Ranitomeya imitator. In the Stuckert lab, she is integrating visual ecology and animal behavior methods with genomics to understand frog visual perception.

  • Galina Aglyamova

    GRADUATE STUDENT (PhD)

    Galina finds many aspects of life fascinating. Throughout her professional journey, she has worked on a diverse collection of topics from structural biology to coral ecology. In the Stuckert Lab, she combines molecular biology methods with modern imaging techniques to study how poison frogs protect their livers from a challenging diet.

  • John Nguyen

    GRADUATE STUDENT (PhD)

    John is interested in understanding the evolutionary processes that drive the remarkable diversity of biological coloration across the tree of life. With the Stuckert Lab group, he is developing a unique study system to unravel the ecological and evolutionary roles of bright coloration in caecilians.

  • Azita Azadi

    GRADUATE STUDENT (PhD)

  • Lizziah Murphy

    (STEGG-INTERACT Post-Bacc Fellow)

Lab Alumni

  • Courtney Whitcher

    POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

    Courtney’s research examines the evolution of biofluorescence in frogs. During her Ph.D., she discovered fluorescence in 155+ frog species and found evidence for ecological significance of this anuran fluorescent signal, suggesting there is an adaptive function of biofluorescence for intraspecific communication in the majority of the species tested. Her findings provide evidence for sensory drive of the frog fluorescent signal; i.e., frog fluorescence is likely a communication signal shaped by the sensory systems and ecological conditions of the receiver and the habitat under which it is received. Courtney also designed and developed the citizen science and educational resource Finding Fluorescence.

  • Andrew Rubio

    POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

    Andrew is an integrative evolutionary biologist that utilizes genomics, ecology, and evolution to develop a better understanding of the genetic basis of complex phenotypes. Specifically, Andrew is interested in elucidating the evolution of aposematic signals in poison frogs of the family Dendrobatidae, by using genomics to investigate the mechanisms controlling color and pattern. During his Ph.D. (Summers lab, ECU), Andrew identified candidate genes and gene networks potentially influencing color variation and identified the overall effects of dietary carotenoids on pigmentation and gene expression in two morphs or Ranitomeya imitator and genes associated with color development.

  • Emily Graves

    UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

    During her time with the Stuckert Lab, Emily conducted a systematic review of poison frog clay model studies and helped maintain our captive frog colony. Emily is currently a graduate student at Texas State University studying aquatic sciences.

  • Zoya Wani

    (STEGG-INTERACT Post-Bacc Fellow)

    Zoya's research focused on the evolution of odorant receptors in frogs. Frogs are an interesting animal because they serve as a crucial evolutionary link between aquatic animals and terrestrial tetrapods. Intriguingly, frogs possess genes for both land- and water-soluble odorants. Using bioinformatics tools, Zoya investigated the diversity of odorant gene receptor families in frog genomes.