Postdoctoral Researcher

I am interested in the neuroendocrine underpinnings of female reproduction, with a goal of understanding how the brain coordinates state-dependent changes. Earlier in my career I explored the genetic architecture of female mate choice (Amanda Moehring, Canada), neuronal control of female post-mating behaviors (Jean-Christophe Billeter, The Netherlands), and the neural circuitry that integrates reproductive state with nutritional homeostasis (Kristin Scott, USA). In the Williams lab, I am exploring the neuroendocrine mechanisms that underlie the tradeoff of reproduction and dispersal in the polymorphisms of female Gryllus crickets.

Postdoctoral Researcher

I use interdisciplinary approaches to answer questions about animals’ ecology, especially in the context of global climate change and adaptation to extreme and changing conditions. I integrate information from all levels of biological organization: from the molecular and physiological level, up to phenotypic outcomes for individuals, and how those outcomes shape population dynamics. My PhD work at the University of Greifswald in Germany integrated genomics, metabolomics, physiology and microbiology to investigate the success of the European wasp spider, Argiope bruennichi, in rapidly colonizing new habitats in northern Europe. In my postdoc research, collaborating with PIs at UC Berkeley, UW Seattle, and UW Madison, I am studying how survival and fecundity constraints vary with elevation in montane grasshoppers along a transect in the Rocky Mountains. Soon, I will begin my own project funded by the National Science Foundation’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology program, expanding upon my work on the grasshoppers.

PhD Candidate

I'm really interested in understanding how environmental factors impact an individuals' life history strategy and how this strategy in turn impacts their performance in future environments. In the Williams lab I'm using the wing polymorphism in Gryllus crickets as a model to tease apart this interaction between the environment and life history to potentially create a more generalizable approach to predicting species' responses to climate change.

PhD Student

My research interest lie in understanding how climate change affects an individual’s energy reserves across its life cycle. As a PhD Student in the Williams Lab, I am working on subalpine grasshoppers (Melanoplus boulderensis and Melanoplus sanguinipes) along the elevational gradient of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I completed my undergraduate degree at UCSB, where I double majored in Ecology and Evolution and Environmental Studies. As a South Asian woman, I understand the barriers that BIPOC face in STEM and want to make science inviting and accessible for all communities.

PhD Student

I’m interested in the evolution of brains and behaviors. In the Williams Lab, I’m exploring the neurobiology that drives behavioral differences between flightless and flight capable crickets of the genus Gryllus. 

Lab Manager

I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology with an emphasis in Immunology and Molecular Medicine. During my undergrad, I worked in the Williams lab where I fell in love with crickets and all things insect physiology based. Now as the lab manager I plan to continue pursuing my research interests around flight muscle histolysis in Grllyus crickets. From upstream regulation, to the actual breakdown itself, and what they do after are all the questions I currently am exploring.

IT/Stats/R support

I help and advise the group with IT, statistics, and R. I have spent over a decade IT freelancing to fund my studies during high school and at the University of Basel. I also love coding, especially in R. My expertise includes GLMMs, dimension reduction, clustering, data visualization and implementation of new methods in R.

I am also currently finishing my PhD in Germany at the University of Greifswald in Applied Zoology and Nature Conservation where I research northwards range expansion in the protected lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros). I use non-invasive biomonitoring including fecal based genetic capture mark recapture, passive acoustic/video monitoring and count data to study movement, population structure and demography through time and space, from population to individual level.

Lab Technician

I examine how elevational gradients impact energy storage in grasshopper and grasshopper eggs through lipid extractions and thin-layer chromatography. In addition to my research, I coordinate cricket care in the lab, ensuring proper husbandry and training new lab members in care protocols. With a background in microbiology, I hope to bridge molecular and ecological perspectives, exploring how microbial communities influence host physiology and adaptation.

Lab Mascot

Lucky is the goodest boy and can be seen following Caroline quite frequently. Feel free to give Lucky a good pat if he's around (he loves ear scratches)!