Current Graduate Students
This is a list of M.S. and PhD-track students advised by Cornell Lab faculty. These students are citizens of both the Lab and the departments and graduate fields through which they were admitted to Cornell’s graduate degree programs.
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Stepfanie Aguillon
Advisor: Irby Lovette
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I am a PhD candidate studying hybridization in Northern Flickers using genomic techniques to better understand the speciation process.
Email: sma256@cornell.edu
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Jake Berv
Advisor: Irby Lovette
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I study the evolution of birds, as they have evolved from their theropod dinosaur ancestors. I am interested in topics related to bird paleontology, genomics, population genetics, and life history evolution.
Email: jsb439@cornell.edu
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Zena Casteel
Advisor: Mike Webster
Graduate Field: Neurobiology and Behavior
My research project is The Shape of Song: local adaptation in beak morphology and its potential to alter sexually selected vocal signaling in a widespread passerine with complex song.
Email: zcc7@cornell.edu
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David Chang van Oordt
Advisor: Maren Vitousek
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I study how individual resistance to infectious diseases can affect birds’ ability to survive, reproduce and migrate; and how can it also affect pathogen transmission across the landscape.
Email: dac385@cornell.edu
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Amelia Demery
Advisor: Irby Lovette
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I’m interested in the genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation and how they vary across space and time. Ongoing projects: investigating the genetics underlying beak-color plasticity and morphological extremism.
Email: acd254@cornell.edu
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Bryant Dossman
Advisor: Amanda Rodewald
Graduate Field: Natural Resources
I’m interested in conservation, movement ecology, and population biology of migratory organisms, especially birds. I seek to understand how seasonal interactions influence population dynamics, movement, and behavior across the annual cycle.
Email: bd342@cornell.edu
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Jay Falk
Advisor: Mike Webster
Graduate Field: Neurobiology and Behavior
I study the adaptive function of female ornamentation in hummingbirds.
Email: jjf266@cornell.edu
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Natalie Hofmeister
Advisor: Irby Lovette
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I’m a PhD candidate using phylogenetic comparative and genomic methods to study range expansion and its drivers in the European Starling.
Email: nrh44@cornell.edu
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Jenn Houtz
Advisor: Maren Vitousek
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I am interested in the connections between the gut microbiome and stress-related changes in physiology, behavior, and brain development.
Email: jlh498@cornell.edu
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Anna Lello-Smith
Advisor: Amanda Rodewald
Graduate Field: Natural Resources
My research investigates how threatened migratory and resident bird species respond to forest regeneration on reclaimed cattle pastures in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve.
Email: aml442@cornell.edu
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D.J. McNeil
Advisor: Amanda Rodewald
Graduate Field: Natural Resources
My research examines population- and community-level responses of birds to creation and restoration of early-successional plant communities on private and public lands in the Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountains.
Email: djm462@cornell.edu
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Colleen Miller
Advisor: Maren Vitousek
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I am interested in the impacts of natural and artificial light on avian behavior and physiology.
Email: ccm246@cornell.edu
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Tram Nguyen
Advisor: John Fitzpatrick
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I study the genetic consequences of population decline in the Florida Scrub-Jay.
Email: tn337@cornell.edu
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Mickey Pardo
Advisors: Mike Webster, Walt Koenig
Graduate Field: Neurobiology and Behavior
I study how Acorn Woodpeckers use vocal communication and social intelligence to navigate their complex social interactions.
Email: map385@cornell.edu
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Maria Teresa Reinoso-Perez
Advisor: André Dhondt
Graduate Field: Natural Resources
I study the interaction and effect of different House Finch pathogens inside their host.
Email: mr833@cornell.edu
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Tom Ryan
Advisor: Maren Vitousek
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I study songbird breeding traits (both behavioral and physiological) and how they are shaped by selection.
Email: tar87@cornell.edu
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C. Steven Sevillano-Rios
Advisor: Amanda Rodewald
Graduate Field: Natural Resources
I study the effects of climate change, habitat patchiness, and landscape configuration on bird diversity across high elevations (up to 5,000 m) in the mountains of Peru.
Email: css279@cornell.edu
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Gerardo Soto
Advisor: Amanda Rodewald
Graduate Field: Natural Resources
I study the effects of deforestation on the behavior and population structure of the biodiversity of South American temperate forests. At Cornell, I investigate how forest degradation affects Magellanic Woodpeckers.
Email: ges234@cornell.edu
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Young Ha Suh
Advisors: John Fitzpatrick, Mike Webster
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
My research focuses on social and environmental factors that influence movement and dispersal in a cooperatively breeding corvid, the Florida Scrub-Jay.
Email: ys757
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Christopher Tarango
Advisor: John Fitzpatrick
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I am interested in better understanding and documenting the behavior of wild birds through innovative monitoring methods.
Email: cat253@cornell.edu
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Derrick Thrasher
Advisor: Mike Webster
Graduate Field: Neurobiology and Behavior
I am investigating the role of social selection on the evolution of female plumage ornaments and reproductive strategies in the Variegated Fairywren.
Email: djt224@cornell.edu
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Jennifer Uehling
Advisor: Maren Vitousek
Graduate Field: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
I study how birds cope with changing environmental conditions through hormonal responses and movement.
Email: jju8@cornell.edu
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Joe Welklin
Advisor: Mike Webster
Graduate Field: Neurobiology and Behavior
I study the ecological and social drivers of sexual signal acquisition in Australian Fairywrens.
Email: jfw96@cornell.edu
