Responsibilities for this position: -Oversee and ensure the quality of multiple research projects, maintaining high standards of accuracy and compliance. -Develop, implement, and continuously revise laboratory protocols to meet evolving research needs. -Perform regulatory maintenance and troubleshooting of laboratory equipment, ensuring optimal functionality.-Serve as the primary communication liaison with supervisory staff, providing updates on project progress and laboratory operations. -Maintain comprehensive and accurate documentation of project statuses, chemical inventory, and sample collection procedures.-Prepare biological samples for shipment, strictly adhering to USDA permit guidelines. -Coordinate with external organizations for the shipment and reception of biological and chemical samples.

Entomology research aimed at identifying pheromones produced by cerambycid and elaterid beetles. Duties include collecting and identifying various cerambycid species, data management, pheromone extraction, and usage of GCMS for pheromone analysis.

-Conducted literature reviews to assess the current state of research on the topic and identify gaps in knowledge.-Used advanced statistical methods in RStudio to determine the effect of evolutionary relatedness on sexually dimorphic traits (PCA, phylogenetic signal analyses, etc.).-Presented updates and project progress during weekly lab meetings to lab colleagues and supervisors.-Authored and submitted a manuscript to the Journal of Ichthyology and Herpetology for publication as the first author (in review).

Phenotypic plasticity research experience for community college students (PRECS). PRECS is a highly selective NSF grant-funded REU program that allows 10 community college students to conduct research for 10 weeks during the summer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In Dr. Fuller's lab, my summer research project investigated the color polymorphism in male bluefin killifish. Specifically, we focused on the effects of lighting environment and diurnal variation on competitive interactions between male color morphs.