Bio

Before I began graduate school at North Carolina State University I taught high school science, as well as anatomy and physiology to nursing students at ECPI University. I hold a Bachelors of Science degree from California State University San Bernardino, and a Masters of Science from The University of Nebraska. My background in biology is broad, and I enjoy doing both lab and field research. Currently my focus is on reproductive behavior and mate choice in house mice. I am particularly interested in the ecological and behavioral aspects of invasive house mice on islands. As a science educator I have long been interested in interdisciplinary studies and the social dimensions of science. Having an inter-disciplinary background will also provide me with the tools required to be an effective researcher and professor.

Honors and Awards

• Best Oral Presentation-20th Annual W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology Symposium 2019
• Graduate Women in Science-National Conference Poster Competition- 2nd place 2016
• International Symposium on Society and Resource Management 2015 Scholarship
• Class Nobel Educator of Distinction: The National Society of High School Scholars 2010

Area(s) of Expertise

- Herpetology Research
- Science Education
- Invasive Species Biology
- Mouse Behavior
- Animal Behavior
- Gene Drive Mice

Publications

• Evaluation of Environmental DNA as a Surveillance Tool for Invasive House Mice (Mus musculus) , Environmental DNA (2025)
• Investigating Potential Threats to Endemic Neuse River Waterdog (Necturus lewisi) Populations , North Carolina Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and The North Carolina Wildlife Society Joint Meeting (2025)
• Exploration of the rates of skeletonization of House Mice (Mus musculus) Using Dermestid (Dermestes maculatus) and Darkling (Tenebrio obscurus) Beetles , North Carolina Academy of Science 120th Annual Meeting (2024)
• Investigating Bd and Bsal in Endemic Neuse River Waterdog (Necturus lewisi) Populations , The Wildlife Society Conference (2024)
• Preparing for a Bsal invasion into North America has improved multi-sector readiness , Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science (2024)
• Investigating the Impacts of Stress and Bd on Raleigh, North Carolina Amphibian Populations , Joint Meeting of Ichthyology and Herpetology (2023)
• Investigating the impacts of stress, Bd, and Bsal on local amphibian populations , State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (2023)
• Student Perceptions on Gene Drives at Meredith College’s Campus , State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (2023)
• Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and the Skin Histology of Salamanders in North Carolinian Salamanders , State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) (2022)
• Examining the dermis of Southeastern salamanders to inform a project on Bd , Global amphibian and Reptile Disease Conference (2022)

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