Past Research

In my PhD research I used an integrative approach to study the interaction of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the helminth parasite Schistocephalus solidus. I was particularly interested in the underlying mechanisms of population level differences in infection rates.

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In my graduate work, I took advantage of the freshwater adaptive radiation of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in southcentral Alaska following the last glacial maximum. Oceanic stickleback independently colonized freshwater habitats where they encountered Schistocephalus solidus, a trophically transmitted cestode that is not viable in marine environments. Using this fascinating host-parasite system I am addressed questions concerning Immunology, Ecology and Evolution.

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Click on the images to learn more about each project.