Dave Weisrock
Principle Investigator
I’m a lucky guy. I’ve been able to convince some great people to come work in the lab. The people listed on this page are the real drivers of the research in our lab. I just do my best to stir up some money, provide mentorship when needed, and stay out of the way. It’s probably a bit more detailed than that, but it’s how I think about it. If you’re interested in learning more about the lab, send me an email, or email one of the folks below.
Postdocs
Katie (Kathryn M.) Everson
Katie is broadly interested phylogeography and species delimitation. In the Weisrock Lab, she works primarily with phylogenomic data to: (a) estimate the evolutionary history of lemurs, and (b) understand how certain properties of genomic data impact species tree reconstruction. Personal website: www.kmeverson.org
Carlos J. Pavón Vázquez
Carlos is currently working on the phylogenomics of salamandrid salamanders. More broadly, he is interested in the relationships between the environment, inter-specific interactions, phenotypes, genetic variation, and species diversity. Personal website: www.cpavon.com
Graduate Students
Mariah Donohue
Mariah is interested in the interplay between environment and evolutionary history in the shaping of gut microbiome diversity in lemurs, and the possible role that the microbiome plays in speciation.
Mary Foley
Mary is examining the health of fresh water mussel species in Kentucky using genetic methods. She is also looking at possible food competition between mussel species using gut microbiome analysis. Her interests include: conservation, evolution, education, and making cookies for the lab.
David Weisenbeck
David has worked on a wide variety of projects in herpetology, and most recently led an amphibian and reptile survey in Virginia. At UK he plans to explore the genomics of frog hybridization and gene flow.
Undergraduate Researchers
Zoe Hert
Zoe investigates diversity patterning of prokaryotes and microeukaryotes within the lemur gut microbiome. While broadly passionate about the ecology and evolution of primates, Zoe is particularly interested in behavior, infectious disease, and the impacts of anthropogenic change.
Carly Karrick
Carly is contributing to the lemur gut microbiome diversity project by investigating gastrointestinal microeukaryotes through lab work, bioinformatics analyses, and manuscript development. Her research interests include coral reef ecology and coral microbiome diversity as well as how changing ocean conditions such as acidification affect corals.
Alumni
Dr. Levi Gray – Postdoctoral Scholar (2018-2020). Current position: USGS Research Ecologist.
Angela Jones – Undergraduate researcher (2016-2020). Current position: PhD Student at Duke University.
Dr. Tom Maigret – Graduate student (2014-2020).
Ruth Percino-Daniel – Visiting researcher (2019). Current position: PhD student at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM).
Ben Browning – Undergraduate researcher (2017-2018). Current position: Masters student at Marshall University.
Kelly Sovacool – Undergraduate researcher (2016-2018). Current position: PhD student at University of Michigan.
Dr. Paul Hime – Graduate student (2011-2017). Current position: Assistant Director of Genomics and Bioinformatics at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute.
Dr. Justin Kratovil – Graduate student (2010-2017). Current position: Post-doc with Elizabeth Jockusch at UConn.
Dr. Schyler Nunziata – Graduate student (2012-2017). Current position: Bioinformaticist with the USDA.
Dr. Scott Hotaling – Graduate student (2011-2017). Current position: Post-doc with Joanna Kelley at Washington State University.
Nikki Lawrence – Lab technician (2016-2017). Current position: Genetic counselor at the University of Kentucky Clinic.
Mackenzie Humphrey – Undergraduate researcher (2015-2017). Current position: Medical student at the University of Kentucky.
Mary Gibbs – Undergraduate researcher (2016-2017).
Dr. Yukie Kajita – Post-doc collaborator (2016).
Mason Murphy – Graduate student, M.S. (2013-2016). Current position: PhD student at Miami University in Ohio.
Ricky Grewelle – Undergraduate researcher (2013-2016). Current position: PhD student at Stanford University.
Deborah Lu – Undergraduate researcher (2013-2015). Current position: Graduate of the University of Kentucky Medical School.
Jose Bocanegra – Undergraduate researcher (2011-2014).
Tolu Odukoya – Undergraduate researcher (2013-2014). Current position: Graduate of the University of Kentucky Medical School.
Dr. Eric O’Neill – Post-doc (2008-2013). Current position: Research scientist in the DNA Identity division of LabCorp.
Josh Williams – Graduate student, M.S. (2009-2012). Current position: Genomics Core Facility at the New York State Department of Health.
Dr. MehmetZülfü Yildiz – Visiting researcher (2012). Current position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biology, Harran University – Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Rachel Cannon – Undergraduate researcher (2011-2012).
Pete Wallenhorst – Undergraduate researcher (2009-2011). Current position: Graduate of the University of Kentucky Medical School.
Stephanie Mitchell – Undergraduate researcher (2008-2010). Current position: Graduate of the University of Louisville Dental School
Alex Noble – Undergraduate researcher (2008-2010). Current position: Graduate of the University of Kentucky Dental School.
Sarah Seger – Undergraduate researcher (2010). Current position: Graduate of the University of Kentucky School of Pharmacy.
Ana Mendia – Undergraduate researcher (2010).
Ben Tuttle – Undergraduate researcher (Summer 2009). Current position: Graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law.