Lab Members

Current Students

	Garrett Brown Undergraduate	Garrett is collecting topographic data from CT scans of marsupial teeth as part of a collaboration with researchers at the University of Salford. The aim of the study is to correlate topographic features with diet in living marsupials and then use CT scans of extinct species to reconstruct their diets.
	Nicholas Burkart Undergraduate	Nicholas is collecting topographic data from CT scans of marsupial teeth as part of a collaboration with researchers at the University of Salford. The aim of the study is to correlate topographic features with diet in living marsupials and then use CT scans of extinct species to reconstruct their diets.
	Sophia Damico MS Student	Sophia is studying a skull of an extinct, ~16 million-year-old carnivorous marsupial (sparassodont) from Bolivia. Specially, she is working to virtually reconstruct the cranial cavity from a CT scan in order to describe what the animal’s brain looked like.
	Russell Engelman PhD Student	Russell has been working with me since he was a senior at West Geauga High School. He earned his BS from CWRU in 2015 and received the prestigious Michelson-Morley prize in Biology. He earned his MS in 2018 with a thesis that resulted in three papers on extinct marsupials of South America: one on paucituberculatans (extinct relatives of shrew-opossums) from Quebrada Honda, Bolivia, and two on sparassodonts (carnivorous marsupials) from central Chile. He has published several other papers on carnivorous marsupials, and his PhD dissertation will focus on carnivorous mammals in both South America and Africa.
	Amy Gao Undergraduate	Amy is collecting topographic data from CT scans of marsupial teeth as part of a collaboration with researchers at the University of Salford. The aim of the study is to correlate topographic features with diet in living marsupials and then use CT scans of extinct species to reconstruct their diets. For her Capstone, she is focusing on modern South American marsupials, including opossums, shrew-opossums, and the monito del monte.
	Nathaneal Lee Undergraduate	Nathaneal is describing a natural endocast from a medium-sized mammal from the early Miocene site of Pampa Castillo in southern Chile. An endocast is a copy of space occupied by the brain (the cranial cavity), making it close approximation of the brain itself. The initial goal of Nathanael’s project was to determine the type of mammal it represented, since it was not found with bones or teeth that are more easily identified. He has determined that it probably represents a small sloth, and his project presentation tied for first place in CWRU’s Spring 2022 Intersections event.
	Bhavya Mahesh Undergraduate	Bhavya is describing several specimens of small octodontoid rodents from the early Miocene site of Chucal in northern Chile. Previous studies have shown that some Chucal mammal species are also present in other parts of the continent, whereas others are unique. Therefore, it will be quite interesting to compare these small rodents to those of other sites of similar age.
	Julia Van Orman Undergraduate	Julia is a student at Macalester College and is describing a juvenile astrapothere specimen from the middle Miocene of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia that consists of an upper jaw with two teeth. Astrapothere remains have been known from this site for nearly 50 years, but they are fragmentary and have never been described. With these teeth, it should be possible to get a more precise identification.
	Sophie Verbeke Undergraduate	Sophie is collecting topographic data from CT scans of marsupial teeth as part of a collaboration with researchers at the University of Salford. The aim of the study is to correlate topographic features with diet in living marsupials and then use CT scans of extinct species to reconstruct their diets.
	Andrew Weber MS Student	Andrew’s thesis will focus on xenarthrans (sloths, armadillos, and anteaters and their extinct relatives). Specifically, he is trying to measure (quantify) morphological diversity in the group in order to compare the disparity of armored xenarthrans such as armadillos and glyptodonts with that of sloths and anteaters. Both groups were much more diverse in the past than they are today, so this will entail coding many extinct species.

Past Students (alphabetical order)

• Ellen Adams, Undergraduate (Summer 2018)
• Cara Anderson, Undergraduate (2013-14)
• Leah Anderson, MS Student (2004-07)
• Kanvaly Bamba, PhD Student (2010-19)
• Brian Barbieri, Undergraduate (2014-15)
• Mariana Blanco, Undergraduate (2020-21)
• Troy Bowers, Undergraduate (2020-21)
• Marie Brosovich, High School Intern (Summer 2010)
• Jeb Bugos, Undergraduate (2020-21)
• Megan Burns, Undergraduate (Summer 2005)
• Beth Carroll, MS Student (2004-07)
• Angeline Catena, PhD Student (2013-18)
• Jen Chick, MS Student (2007-10)
• Tatiana Dolgushina, Undergraduate (2009-10)
• Nicholas Drew, MS Student (2011-13)
• Andrew Franco, Undergraduate (2010-11)
• Susan Grana, Undergraduate  (Summer 2005)
• Pat Guder, Undergraduate (2012, 2014)
• Aaron Holland, Undergraduate (2019-20)
• Tara Kelloway, MS Student (2012-14)
• Maeve Kolk, High School Intern (Summer 2013)
• Smruthi Maganti, Undergraduate (2017-19)
• Andy McGrath, Undergraduate (2012-15)
• Diane Moon, Undergraduate (2010-11)
• Maria Murphy, High School Intern (Summer 2017)
• Kyle Niemi, Undergraduate (Spring 2009)
• David Parker, High School Intern (Summer 2009)
• Niki Perez, MS Student (2012-13)
• Alix Prybyla, High School Intern (Summer 2012)
• Katie Prybyla, High School Intern (Summer 2013)
• Deborah Rook, Undergraduate (Spring 2007)
• Melissa Sameh, Undergraduate (2010-11)
• Stephanie Sang, Undergraduate (Summer 2010, 2012)
• Thomas Sheppard, Undergraduate (Spring 2007)
• Joanna Sherman, High School Intern (Summer 2015)
• Catherine Taylor, Undergraduate (2014-16)
• Danielle Thornsberry, Undergraduate (2013-14)
• Elizabeth Tobin, Undergraduate (2017-18)
• Valentine Volk, MS Student (2014-15)
• Nick Whalen, Undergraduate (2018-19)