The University of Kansas Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) Post-Doctoral Program
Current IRACDA Post-Docs
Michelle Gill mlgill@ku.edu
Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Mentor: Russ Middaugh
Research: Our research is focused on elucidating the relationship between protein dynamics and stability. Gaining a deeper understanding of this relationship will enable us to develop novel techniques for stabilizing vaccines.
Allison Scoville alison@biology.usu.edu
Ecology and Environmental Biology
Mentor: John Kelly
Research: I use both theoretical and empirical approaches to investigate
fundamental questions in evolutionary biology, with an emphasis on
incorporating the complexity inherent in natural populations. We are
currently focused on understanding the role of genetic and developmental
architecture in shaping standing variation and evolutionary trajectories
in floral traits of Mimulus guttatus.
Former IRACDA Post-Docs
Claudia Bode
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Mentor: Kathy Mitchell
Teaching: General biology, General Biology Lab, Bioinformatics
Research: Our research focuses on the differentiation capacity of stem cells isolated from the matrix of the umbilical cord.
Muir Eaton
Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center- Ornithology Division
Mentor: A.T. Peterson
Teaching: Ecology Lab, General Biology Lab
Research: My research interests center on comparative evolutionary biology and more specifically on the evolution of plumage colors in birds. I am interested in how hidden color variation in conspecific plumages relates to our understanding of sexual selection, and whether there is any evidence of correlated evolution of plumage colors, visual sensitivity, and habitat use (i.e. light environment and/or ecological niche).
Maria Eifler
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Mentor: Deborah Smith
Teaching: Animal Behavior, Principles of Ecology
Research: My research focuses on using molecular genetics to answer questions in animal behavior and ecology. Two of my current projects are on kinship in overwintering rattlesnakes and the evolution of sociality in spiders.
Ann Manzardo
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor: Dr. William Gabrielli
Teaching: Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry
Research: My research uses a 45-yr old Danish longitudinal database to
study the contributions of early childhood brain growth and injury to
the later development of alcoholism in adulthood.
Brena Mauck
Geology Department- Geomicrobiology laboratory
Mentor: Jennifer Roberts
Teaching: Cellular and Molecular Biology Lab, General Biology
Research: Dr. Roberts’ lab focuses on microbe:mineral interactions and the geological and ecological implications of these interactions in subsurface environments. My role is to analyze changes in microbial community diversity due to particular environmental conditions and stresses. Recent work is exploring whether in nutrient limited environments microbes attach to minerals that provide the limiting nutrient. Our study site is a petroleum contaminated aquifer in Bemidji, MN.
Aaron Reed
Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center- Mammalogy Division
Mentor: Norm Slade
Teaching: Biostatistics, Wildlife Ecology, Vertebrate Zoology
Research: My research focuses on population ecology in small mammals.
Specifically I am using a long-term data set of 4 species of small mammal to
examine interrelationships of vital rates (e.g., survival), density
dependence in recruitment, and relation of vital rates to environmental
variables. The ultimate goal of this work is to assess the effect of
variability in vital rates, and the pattern of that variability, on
structured demographic models. I also am starting work that examines the
role of small mammal disturbance on nitrogen cycling.
Ellen Tarr
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Mentor: Helen Alexander
Teaching: Biology 101 Lab, Ecology of Infectious Disease
Research: My research is on the identification of disease resistance genes in Carex blanda. We are using the sedge Carex blanda and its smut pathogen, Anthracoidea blanda, as our disease system. My broader research interest is in host-pathogen interactions, with a particular interest in parasitic nematodes.
Sandy Vigil-Cruz
Michael Wacker
Molecular Biosciences
Mentor: James Orr
Teaching: Principles of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Research Design and Methods in Science
Research: We are currently investigating if the endogenous agent, thromboxane A2, is able to directly stimulate cardiac nerves or cardiac myocytes to induce arrhythmias or other alterations in cardiac function. I also work on projects related to genetic polymorphisms that relate to obesity with Phil Gallagher in the Applied Physiology Lab as well as serotonin knockout mice with Steve Fowler in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department.
