Principal Investigator
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David C. Blackburn
Associate Curator of Herpetology Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida Affiliate Faculty in UF's Department of Biology, Tropical Conservation and Development program, School of Natural Resources and Environment, and Center for African Studies. Lead PI, oVert Thematic Collections Network CoPI, iDigBio Fellow and Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences Associate Curator, 2014–2015, California Academy of Sciences Assistant Curator, 2011–2014, California Academy of Sciences Postdoctoral Researcher, 2008–2011, University of Kansas Ph.D., 2008, Harvard University A.B., 2001, University of Chicago |
Affiliated Scientists
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Ed Stanley, Ph.D.
Associate Scientist Florida Museum of Natural History Ed oversees the FLMNH's Digital Imaging Lab and is a close collaborator of the Blackburn Lab. He is a coPI on the oVert Thematic Collections Network and involved as a collaborator in many projects in the lab. |
Staff
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Molly Phillips
Education, Outreach, Diversity, & Inclusion Coordinator iDigBio M.Sc., 2013, University of Manitoba B.S., 2006, University of Florida As the Education, Outreach, Diversity, & Inclusion Coordinator, Molly is responsible for coordinating and implementing the EODI activities of iDigBio and communicating and facilitating coordination and networking among the TCNs in order to promote, encourage, develop, and implement relevant E&O and related Broader Impact activities. |
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Coleman M. Sheehy III, Ph.D.
Collection Manager, Herpetology Florida Museum of Natural History Ph.D., 2012, University of Texas, Arlington Coleman oversees a growing group of volunteers and curatorial assistants working in the FLMNH herpetology collection. He is also a specialist in snake systematics. ResearchGate |
Postdoctoral Scientists
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Jaimi Gray
Ph.D., 2018, University of Adelaide B.S., 2013, University of Adelaide Jaimi is a CT imaging and morphology specialist and a postdoc on the oVert Thematic Collections Network. Her research includes comparative morphology of lizard skulls, arachnid weaponry, and snake brains and neurosensory systems. She has worked in field sites and labs in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. |
Graduate Students
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Adania Flemming
Ph.D. student in UF Department of Biology M.S., 2018, University of Florida B.S., 2011, University of Tampa UF Graduate School Fellowship Adania's research is at the intersection of science and education. She is using natural history collections as a resource to introduce and prepare undergraduate students for careers in science. |
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Greg Jongsma
Ph.D. student in UF Department of Biology M.S., 2014, San Francisco State University B.S., 2010, Acadia University Postgraduate Scholarship, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Greg is working on the comparative phylogeography and systematics of frogs in Central Africa, including the role of forest refugia in structuring patterns of species diversity and gene flow. He has conducted field research in Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Uganda. |
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Rachel Keeffe
Ph.D. student in UF Department of Biology B.S., 2017, University of Massachusetts, Amherst UF Graduate School Fellowship NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Rachel is working on the functional morphology. She recently completed a project on the comparative morphology of the limbs across front-first burrowing frogs. |
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Marcel Talla Kouete
Ph.D. student in UF School of Natural Resources & Environment M.S., 2015, San Francisco State University EGDGE Fellow, 2011–2013, Zoological Society of London M.S., 2003, University of Douala Marcel is working on issues related to the conservation and natural history of amphibians in tropical forests in Central Africa. His work involves studying the distribution and diversity of the fungal pathogen contributing to many amphibian declines and skin microbiomes based on field research in Cameroon. |
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Dan Paluh
Ph.D. student in UF Department of Biology M.S., 2016, Villanova University B.S., 2014, John Caroll University UF Graduate School Fellowship NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Dan is working on a variety of projects related to phenotypic diversity, evolution, and function across amphibians and reptiles. His current research focused on the evolution of life history in the marsupial frogs of South America as well as large-scale patterns of trait evolution in frogs. |
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María Camila Vallejo-Pareja
Ph.D. student in UF Department of Biology M.S., 2018, Sam Houston State University B.Sc., 2011, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá UF Graduate School Fellowship COLCIENCIAS Doctorados en el Exterior Scholarship, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Colombia María has a background in vertebrate paleontology and is co-advised with Jon Bloch at FLMNH. She is currently working on developing a better understanding of the frogs from the Oligocene of Florida. ResearchGate |
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Interested in joining the lab?
Check out the graduate program in Biology at the University of Florida, or contact us in the Division of Herpetology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. |
Visiting Students & Postdocs
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Fernanda Magalhães Silva
Ph.D. student in Universidade Federal do Pará/Museu Goeldi M.S., 2013, Universidade Federal do Pará/Museu Goeldi B.S., 2008, Universidade Federal do Pará Brazil Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) PDSE 41/2018 Fellowship Fernanda's research during her visit to UF focuses on embryonic development and ontogenetic changes in the skull of an Amazonian pit viper using CT-Scans and 3D geometric morphometrics. ResearchGate |
Undergraduate Students
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Adrina Perez
University of Florida Adrina is working in our molecular genetics lab with grad student Greg Jongsma and helping out on a variety of projects related to African frog diversity and conservation. |
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Amber Singh
University of Florida UF University of Scholars Program Amber is working to characterize shape variation in the inner ears of frogs and relating that to ecomorphology and phylogeny. She is helping to create digital and 3D-printed models for education related to the oVert TCN. But she also really likes snakes. |
Former Lab and Field Team Members
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Stu Nielsen
Visiting Assistant Professor, Marquette University Courtesy Faculty, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida Stu was a postdoc in the lab from 2018–2020 working on gopher frogs, African frogs, and more. Google Scholar |
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Paulo D. P. Pinheiro
Postdoc at Universidade de São Paulo Paulo was a visiting postdoc in the lab for 6 months in 2020, supported by a Bolsa de Estágio em Pesquisa no Exterior Fellowship from FAPESP in Brazil. Paulo's website |
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Catherine Early
Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology Science Museum of Minnesota Catherine was a postdoc on the oVert TCN project. Catherine's website |
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Igor Joventino Roberto
Ph.D. student in Universidade Federal do Amazonas Igor's visited the lab in 2019 for 6 months while working on systematics and species delimitation of caimans. ResearchGate |
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Bryan McLean
Assistant Professor Univ. North Carolina - Greensboro Bryan was a NSF PRFB postdoc in the lab, along with Rob Guralnick and David Reed. Bryan's website |
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Jessica Oswald
Postdoc with Rob Guralnick and Julie Allen. Jess was a postdoc in the Blackburn Lab from 2016–2018 and was also associated with Rob Guralnick and Dave Steadman's labs. Jessica's website |
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Oona Takano
Admin., oVert TCN 2018 PhD student, University of New Mexico |
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Lauren Gonzales
Assistant Professor Univ. South Carolina - Greenville Lauren was a postdoc in the Blackburn Lab from 2015–2016 and was also associated with Jon Bloch's lab. Lauren's website |
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Giovanni Fuentes
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T. Dani Hayes
UF undergraduate, 2017–2020 |
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Manas Sharma
Visiting Student Researcher June–July 2017 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Trivandrum, India |
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C.J. Blair
Visiting Student Researcher January 2017 Oberlin College |
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Luís Ceríaco
Investigator, Universidade do Porto Luis was a postdoc in the Blackburn Lab from 2014–2016 funded by a grant from JRS Biodiversity Foundation. Luis on ResearchGate |
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Lauren Roberts
Undergraduate Curatorial Assistant June–July 2016 Lauren visited us from Dave McLeod's lab at James Madison University |
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Dan Portik
Bioinformatics Scientist, Pacific Biosciences Cameroon 2011, 2013, 2014 Uganda 2014 Google Scholar |
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Brian Freiermuth
M.Sc., 2015, San Francisco State University Cameroon 2013, 2014 |
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Lauren Scheinberg
Collection Manager California Academy of Sciences Nigeria 2012 Cameroon 2014 CAS Herpetology |
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Jens V. Vindum
Collection Manager (retired) California Academy of Sciences Nigeria 2012 Angola 2012, 2013, 2015 CAS Herpetology |
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