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 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
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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Coleman M. Sheehy III
Collection Manager, Herpetology Florida Museum of Natural History 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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Catherine Early
Ph.D., 2019, Ohio University B.S. & B.A., 2012, North Carolina State University Catherine is an expert in avian anatomy, especially the brain, as well as using CT-scans to visualize endocasts of living and extinct birds. Catherine is a postdoctoral scientist supporting the inner workings of the oVert Thematic Collections Network. |
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Stu Nielsen
Ph.D., 2016, University of Mississippi M.S., 2008, Villanova University B.S., 2004, Brigham Young University Stu's interests range from African frogs and New Zealand geckoes to systematics and sex determination. He's working on a variety of projects in the lab including gopher frogs in Florida and the systematics of various African frogs. |
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 a diversity of 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 NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship Greg is working on comparative phylogeography and systematics of frogs in Central Africa. He has conducted field research in Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Uganda. Some of his recent field research was supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society. |
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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 diversity and evolution of the phenotypes in frogs, including comparative morphology and function 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. He conducts field research in Cameroon, including surveys to understand the distribution and diversity of the fungal pathogen contributing to many amphibian declines as well as to understand the host defenses against this pathogen. |
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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. A master of CT-visualization and 3D geometric morphometrics, his new passion is the evolution of life history in the marsupial frogs of South America. |
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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 María has a background in vertebrate paleontology and is co-advised with Jon Bloch at FLMNH. Most recently, she's been working on the anatomy associated with miniaturization in squamates. She is currently working through lots of screen-washed fossils of frogs from Oligocene sites in 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
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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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Giovanni Fuentes
University of Florida Gio is working with grad student Dan Paluh and Sean Harrington on a project using CT-scans to investigate the evolution of skull anatomy in rattlesnakes. |
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Danielle Hayes
University of Florida UF University of Scholars Program Dani is working in our molecular genetics lab with grad student Greg Jongsma on projects related to African frogs, including a project characterizing topotypic populations from an important site in Angola. |
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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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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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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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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
Postdoc, Univ. Arizona Cameroon 2011, 2013, 2014 Uganda 2014 Dan's website |
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Brian Freiermuth
M.Sc., 2015, San Francisco State University Cameroon 2013, 2014 Brian's website |
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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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