People in the lab

Post Graduates in the Lab ….

Mahesh Reddy is a computer science graduate student at ODU. He is currently working in the Horth lab on a mosquitofish model that incorporates data from natural selection in the wild, from empirical laboratory studies, as well as from field studies to determine if we can capture the important parameters allowing for the persistence of very rare melanic male mosquitofish in nature, based upon our knowledge from real-world experiments and catastrophic environmental effects (e.g. hurricanes and droughts).

Mohammad Al-Zein is a graduate student in biology at ODU with many interests, including molecular and population genetics. He is working on sequencing genes that are responsible for black pigmentation in live-bearing fishes, such as mosquitofish. These gene sequences, along with some other empirical data, will be used to determine whether there is strong evidence that negative frequency dependent selection maintains rare melanic mosquitofish in nature.

John Hicks is a recent biology graduate at ODU and is involved in the mosquitofish gene-sequencing project. In addition, John is also sequencing mutant pigeon DNA so that we can determine whether there is an association between phenotype (pigeon feather colors) and point mutations in these birds.

Graduate Students in the Lab...

Eoin Whelan will be a PhD student in the fall of 2005. Eoin is interested in the aggressive trait associated with melanism in mosquitofish as well as the effect of the accumulation of mutations with age.

Lisa W. will be a Master’s student in the fall of 2005. Lisa is interested in mating behavior and the importance of pheromones in this activity.

Important Undergraduates in the Lab …

Emma Bruce is a biology major/chemistry minor at ODU. She is sequencing one of the many genes involve in pigmentation in fish so that we can determine whether there is an association between color phenotype and genotype.

Jenni Stearns is a biology major at ODU. She is also sequencing one of the many genes involved in pigmentation in live-bearing fishes.

Glenn Korbeck is a biology major at ODU, as well. He is currently working on a project to determine whether pheromones are important mating cues for some of the live-bearing fish species. He is using a combination of behavioral experimentation and protein analyses to identify precisely which peptides contribute to important sex-specific mating signals in some of the live-bearing fish species.

Heather Cobb is a biology major at ODU, too. She was helpful in establishing the fish lab and in maintaining fish stock populations. She has moved to less aquatic pastures recently.

Joseph Cowart is working in the fish room breeding albino and melanic mosquitofish and maintaining fish stock populations.

A'Keen White helps keep the fish lab running.

Rebecca Wilk is working on genetic crosses in mosquitofish.

Meghan Gillespie works on molecular genetics of melanism.