Jingchun LiPrincipal Investigator
Associate Professor & CU Museum Curator of Invertebrates P.hD., University of Michigan Packard Fellow National Geographic Explorer I have always been fascinated by the remarkable diversity of invertebrates and their complex interactions. One of my childhood obsessions was to attempt raising any invertebrates (spiders, dragonflies, cicadas, moths, crayfish, crabs, etc.) I can find near home. The passion further developed into curiosity about the evolutionary processes that generate the diverse lineages, forms and functions of invertebrates. During my undergraduate study at the Capital Normal University (China), I visited the University of Tübingen (Germany) to study biochemistry and worked as a research assistant in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, researching the systematics of cave crustaceans. After receiving my B.S. in Biological Sciences, I joined the University of Michigan and earned my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. From there, I moved to Harvard University to conduct my postdoctoral research, supported by a NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Although both my Ph.D. and postdoctoral research focus on marine invertebrates, I am also excited about biodiversity/symbiosis in freshwater and terrestrial systems. My deep connections with zoological museums trace back to years of training in the National Zoological Museum of China, the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. I enjoy maintaining a well-functioning museum collection and providing services to the scientific community. I am especially interested in connecting scientific research to the general public through museum programs. |
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Kelly MartinMuseum Collections Manager
M.S., University of Colorado Boulder Graduate Women in Science Fellow 2022 Kelly is originally from Wisconsin. She completed her bachelor's degree in Zoology and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She went on to earn her master’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in Museum and Field Studies. Her thesis research centered on the biogeography of freshwater snail populations in the western US. Kelly is currently finishing her PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Idaho. Her research is focused on understanding microevolutionary processes that have macroevolutionary consequences. Specifically, her research aims to disentangle the relative roles of evolutionary and ecological processes that govern species coexistence and generate communities of species. She examines how the dynamic characteristics of islands can impact the processes responsible for producing species distributions in Galápagos Islands endemic land snails. She has a particular interest in recovering snail shell DNA from extinct species to facilitate the identification of community assembly patterns and quantifying spatial overlap across geographic space and throughout evolutionary time. Outside of work, Kelly enjoys spending time outdoors and hanging out with friends and family. She spends her free time crafting and cooking. |
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Andy TanPhD student
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Andy is a PhD student engaged in the study of the phylogeny, taxonomy and sensory adaptations within an intriguing family of marine bivalves, Limidae. Commonly known as file clams, this family is a truly cosmopolitan, found across all oceans, all latitudes and depths. His current interests in biology currently converge at the intersection of macroevolutionary processes, biodiversity and biogeography, and interactions. He also upholds an interest in the evolution of mitogenomes in photosymbiotic cardiids. Originally from Malaysia, Andy completed his bachelor's degree in Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences at Wesleyan University as a recipient of the Freeman Asian Scholarship. During his time at Wesleyan, he delved into the world of museum curation and exhibition creation and has never departed since. He also grew a greenhouse-full of experimental plants to unravel intricate multigenerational GxE interactions in Polygonum, has ventured into cartographic illustration, mapping out South American glacier distribution, Malay Archipelago adventure log, distribution of botanical wonders like Nepenthes and Begonia, and also created many 3D models of natural history specimens, archaeological and anthropological artifacts. He has spent time as assistant curators and interns at the CUB Invertebrate Zoology Collections, at the JWP Museum of Natural History (Middletown, CT), at the Paleontological Research Institute (Ithaca, NY) and the Smithsonian Institute NMNH (Washington D.C.). Collecting curiosities and passions as time goes on, he enjoys visiting (and expanding his own) collections, from seashells, to fossils, plants and plant portraits, Impressionist paintings, jasperware ... an insatiable love for all things animal, vegetable and mineral. While, for him, the separation between passion and life is extremely enigmatic, Andy finds solace and exhilaration in yoga, bouldering, beachcombing, scuba diving, hiking, stargazing, photography and the indulgence in the joy of singing. Here are samples of Andy's natural history photography. |
Maya ShaulskyPhD student
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology My history includes: -A B.S. in marine biology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, -Undergraduate studies in microbial evolution, -Work at Baylor College of Medicine on epigenetic inheritance transcriptional fidelity and phenotypic variability using E. coli as a model organism, -Sequencing work for All of Us—a million-human genome wide association study at the Human Genome Sequencing Center in Baylor College of Medicine. I have many passions in Biology. I love: -Evolution in its entirety, -Genetics, -Wet lab work, -Experimental ecology, -Microbiology, -Conservation biology, -Marine biology, -Basic research, -Molecular biology, -Scientific education. My outreach focuses on recruitment through educational opportunities to create a more inclusive scientific environment, with an emphasis on the following groups: -Kids -Disabled humans -Women and girls -People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds In my spare time, you can find me: -Getting creative by making fuzzy jewelry, thrift shopping, or upcycling vintage finds -Binge watching my latest TV show -Gardening and caring for my house plants -Going to the beach (or whatever small body of water I can find in Colorado) |
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Ruiqi LiPhD student
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Born in a landlocked town in Shandong Province, China, my story with oceans began in 2014, when I started to study marine science at Xiamen University. During my undergraduate studies, I sought to improve my academic background in different educational systems around world. For example, I joined the honors program in marine science at Xiamen University, enrolled in the best tropical marine institute in Taiwan, National Sun Yat-sen University, and attended the Semester by the Sea Program at the University of Maine. My joint background exposed me to rigorous coursework in China, field trips and hands-on experiments in Taiwan, and collaborative work requiring critical thinking in the U.S. These experiences also provided me with a broad perspective in marine science that motivates me to seek interdisciplinary training at the graduate level. Having graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in marine science from Xiamen University, I am pursuing my PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in University of Colorado Boulder. Having conducted research from the tropics to the Arctic, I became interested in invertebrate-algae symbiosis, as I find it to be the most amazing phenomenon in the natural world. The zooxanthellae-cnidarian symbiosis lays the foundation for the world’s most abundant habitat: coral reefs. Now I am working on symbiosis in Dr. Jingchun Li’s lab. Outside of my academic life, I am also a photographer, a college soccer player, a diver, a hiker and a marathon runner. |
LAB alumni
VIRIDIANA AVILA Postdoctoral Researcher
PhD, The Pennsylvania State University Viri a biologist researching on comparative marine genomics of Symbiodiniaceae photosymbioses. She has been interested in the molecular diversity and variation resulting from distinct life histories and evolutionary trajectories in coral reefs. She is broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of these photosymbioses, specifically in the molecular and metabolic interactions among different holobiont members with emphasis on the influence of microbial symbionts. |
Daniel zaratePhD student 2023
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Dan grew up in the high mountains of Chiapas, Mexico, far away from any ocean. However, his experience teaching ocean science as an outdoor educator at the Catalina Island Marine Institute motivated him to take a career path in marine biology. The sensation of introducing the ocean and its wonders to people who have never experienced it before was beyond rewarding. This passion for research and teaching easily led him to graduate school. During his time at CU Boulder, Dan's research focused on the evolutionary and physiological mechanisms of invertebrates joined in symbiosis. His work shed light on the physiology, biogeography, and ecology of animal-algae interactions, and helped us further understand their survival in our changing climate. |
Cameron pittmanMaster's student 2023
Museum and Field Studies Cameron received his bachelor's degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. During his time in the MFS program, Cameron worked in the Invertebrate and Vertebrate collections assisting in many of the upkeep of the collections. His research interests are improving digitization methodologies, understanding museums’ cultural authority, and science education. |
Bridget chalifourPhD student 2022
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Bridget graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and minors in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and Soil and Water Science in 2017. At the Li lab, Bridget has discovered a passion for using natural history museum resources to answer ecological questions. Her research centers around Oreohelix strigosa, a native Coloradan land snail also known as the Rocky Mountainsnail, and its associated gut microbiome. Understanding the healthy microbial balance inside this snail’s gut will provide an initial step toward better conservation and management of this species. She is interested in using a combination of preserved museum specimens and freshly captured snails to answer questions about how ethanol preservation affects the microbiome, and how different environmental factors like human disturbance, microhabitat features, and geographic location affect this snail. |
Emily CurcioMaster's student 2022
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology With a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from CU Boulder, Emily studied ecological interactions of marine parasites and their hosts. Her research interests are coastal ecology, marine invertebrate symbiosis, and marine biogeography. |
erika nielsenMaster's student 2022
Museum and Field Studies Erika earned her bachelor's in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Colorado Boulder. For her master's thesis project, she worked in the museums's invertebrate collection and studied marine epibionts that are associated with bivalve shells. Beyond her passion for ecology and museums, She's often hiking or skiing as the seasons allow. If she's unable to do either, she is painting the landscapes she’d most like to see. |
Katie sheahanMaster's student 2021
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Katie's research focused on the symbiotic algae that live in coral and other marine invertebrates. Her thesis examined transmission of symbiotic algae between host organisms. Along with her passion for marine biology, she loves photography, hiking, camping and backpacking. Someday she hopes to do marine biology field research and spend her life living and working in the outdoors. |
Lindsey DoughertyPostdoctoral Researcher
PhD, University of California Berkeley Dr. Dougherty is fascinated by nature’s anomalies. The oddities of the natural world are often the most captivating, and the driving forces through which they evolved are often the most interesting. These complex adaptations require multiple mechanisms to function, are phylogenetically unique, and provide a fitness value. They are a platform through which we can elucidate the powerful mechanisms that propel species, ecological, and genetic biodiversity. In her postdoctoral research with Dr. Li, she incorporate evolutionary-developmental analysis of the unique flashing display of disco clams, while expanding her research into a phylogenetic analysis of the diverse defense mechanisms within the genus and the presence of symbionts. Lindsey is now teaching Tropical Marine Ecology at CU Boulder |
Julie ByleMaster's student 2016-2019
Museum & Field Studies https://naturesnavigation.com/home Julie's main research interests are in STEM education, ichthyology, and marine conservation. Due to a passion for both biological research and STEM teaching, Dr. Li and Julie have created research projects that are interdisciplinary in science and education. Julie is now a PhD student at the University of Colorado Denver. |
YouI welcome students and postdocs who are passionate about invertebrate biodiversity, evolutionary biology and symbiosis.
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