Former Lab Members
We're a motley crew that share a love for science, nature and having fun!
Kori J. Kirkpatrick
Undergraduate Researcher
2016-2017
Joseph Bennett
Undergraduate Researcher
2016-2017
Angelica E. Flores Undergraduate Researcher & Animal Caretaker
2017
Brian Widmer
Undergraduate
Reseacher,
NSF Biodiversity Fellow, 2016-2019
Sam Quinn
Undergraduate
Reseacher,
NSF Biodiversity Fellow,2016-2019
Alli Kellerman
Undergraduate Researcher,
DNA Master, 2017-2019
Josh Ferguson
Researcher,
Tadpole
Ninja, 2017-2019
Jacob Fanis Undergraduate Researcher,
Code Master, 2019-2020
Dan Sears
Lab Manager &
Undergraduate Researcher
2016-2017
Skye Steiner
Undergraduate Researcher
2016-2017
Michael Deutsch Undergraduate Researcher,
Bioacoustics Ninja, 2017-2019
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Connor French
Masters of Science
2016-2018
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Connor is interested in evolutionary ecology and population genetics. As an undergraduate he performed research on color evolution in female three-spined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and morphological variation in a shiner (Notropis) species group. As a masters student, Connor is integrating environmental, phenotypic and genomic data in a phylogeographic study of three Peruvian Ameerega species.
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Connor is now a doctoral student at CCNY in the labs of Drs. Mike Hickerson and Ana Carnaval
Carmen Burkett
Animal Caretaker,
Frog Whisperer, 2017-2020
Nathan Jean
Undergraduate Researcher
Computer Scientist
2019
Katelyn Toigo
Undergraduate
Reseacher,
GIS Sensei
2017-2020
Wilson Guillory
Masters Student
NSF Biodiversity Fellow
Wilson Guillory
Masters Student
NSF Biodiversity Fellow, 2017-2020
Wilson is interested in the systematics, evolution, and biogeography of reptiles and amphibians. As a masters student, Wilson will be tackling the task of resolving a species-level phylogeny for the poison frog genus Ameerega using genomic data. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas where he studied incidences of horizontal gene transfer in diatoms, which began his interest in phylogenetics. He has also studied millipede morphology as well as carpenter bee phylogenetics using ultraconserved elements (UCEs).
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Wilson enjoys reading, writing, and drawing in his spare time and also plays the drums. He hopes to pursue a career in academia studying animal evolution.
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Wilson is now a doctoral student in the lab of Dr Marcelo Gehara at Rutgers University!
Cindy Trujillo
Undergraduate
Researcher,
DNA Guru, 2018-2021, 2018
Aleida Iriarte
Undergraduate Researcher
Future director of all things science, 2021-2024
Aleida comes from Chicago, though she was born in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She is an undergraduate at SIUC studying zoology and biochemistry. Her academic interests include biodiversity, conservation, evolution, sustainability, mammalogy, herpetology, chemistry, and nearly anything that helps discover the secrets of the natural world. She works in Dr. Brown’s lab as an undergraduate assistant. Outside of school, her interests include hiking, hammocking, traveling, herping, and most outdoor activities.
Nathan Burke
Undergraduate Researcher
Tadpole Sherpa, 2024
Nathan is a junior zoology major specializing in animal biology. His research interests include animal behavior/genetics and conservation. He loves working with animals and caring for them giving me a bond with the animals is the real reward. Nathan hopes to expand my lab and animal prowess in the future with projects and working with fellow zoologists.
Jake Hutton, MSc
Doctoral Student
2021-2026
Amphibians represent one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates, with conservative estimates suggesting 33% of all species are at risk of extinction. Researchers have shown that climate change will be extremely challenging for ectothermic animals, such as amphibians, because of increased environmental temperatures. As amphibian populations continue to decline globally, the need for greater understanding of conservative physiological research tools rapidly increases. Specifically, if or how amphibians can cope with novel or chronic temperature pressures is a critical question considering the magnitude and rapid pace of global climate change.
In addition to examining physiological responses of amphibians to climate, I will also be monitoring the influence of temporal water regimes and weather patterns on amphibian breeding phenology, distribution, abundance, and community structure in the Buttonland Swamp of the Lower Cache River Valley in Southern Illinois.
​BreAnn Geralds, MSc
Doctoral Student
SIU Doctoral Fellow
2020-2026
BreAnn is broadly interested in research regarding dendrobatid life histories, including how behavior, genetic, and environmental factors lead to speciation events. She is an alumnus of SIU after attaining her undergraduate degree in zoology with a focus on herpetology and conservation. She then obtained her master’s degree from East Carolina University working with Dr. Kyle Summers identifying differentially expressed genes in the brains of begging Ranitomeya imitator and Ranitomeya variabilis tadpoles to pinpoint the mechanisms underlying the evolution of begging behavior and parent-offspring interactions. Her love of dendrobatids and her master’s lab brought her back to SIU to work with Dr. Jason Brown investigating speciation mechanisms in Ameerega poison frogs.
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When not obsessing over frogs, BreAnn loves hiking or anything outdoors, crafting just about everything, playing DnD, reading, writing, pinning insects, watching football, and caring for her mini zoo of herps.
Morgan is interested in phenotypic evolution, phylogenetics, and biogeography of vertebrates, with a strong interest in herps. She completed her undergraduate degree at Iowa State University, where she studied temperature-dependent sex determination and nesting phenology in painted turtles. She hopes to pursue a career in academia studying evolution, with additional foci on teaching and promoting diversity in science. As a masters student, Morgan is working on assembling a phylogeny of the Ranitomeya genus, the thumbnail poison frogs, and investigating phylogeographic relationships among its species.
Outside of the lab, Morgan enjoys spending time outdoors through hiking and herping. As a retired vocalist and pianist, she is also an avid fan of choral music and theatre. Her other hobbies include reading, writing, and long walks on the beach with her lizard.
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Morgan is now a doctoral student in the labs of Drs. Jamie Oaks and Dan Warner at Auburn!
Anna Bartolomucci
Undergraduate
Reseacher, NSF Biodiversity Fellow
2019-2021
Sara Depa
Undergraduate Researcher
Animal Guru and Lab Swiss Army Knife, 2022-2024
Sarah is an undergraduate student studying zoology with a specialization in animal biology and a minor in environmental studies. She is from Arlington Heights, IL which is a suburb of Chicago. Sarah has previously done some work with genotyping sturgeon, but more recently has worked with the Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab to capture white-tailed deer fawns for the SIU Deer Project. In the Brown Lab, Sarah aids in maintenance and feeding some of the in-house frog residents and loves getting greeted by their little chirps. She enjoys learning about human-related disturbances and how we, as an individual and as a community, can reduce our impact on other species. She hopes that in the future she can be an advocate for conservation and spark big change. Outside of animals, Sarah enjoys hiking, painting, and doodling.
Eli Honn
Undergraduate Researcher
Animal Caretaker &
Poison Frog Couples Therapist
Eli is a sophomore zoology major. Their research interests include animal behavior and conservation. They love working with animals......
Sofía Granados-Martínez, Masters Student
SIU Master's Fellow
2021-2025
Sofy is a master's student from Costa Rica, currently studying the phylogeography of widespread poison frog species across the Amazon basin. Her research focuses on understanding the distribution and evolutionary patterns of three diverse poison frog species. Sofy completed her Licenciatura degree in Zoology at the University of Costa Rica where she worked with Dr. Fernando Soley-Guarda studying visual navigation of the strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) in their natural tropical forest environment. In her spare time, Sofy loves to explore nature and hike. She also loves good coffee, yoga, board games, reading books and watch the stars in the night sky.
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Robert Wray
Undergraduate Researcher
Tadpole Ninja
Robert is an undergrad zoology student who hopes to get his PhD in animal behavior and behavioral ecology. Robert is interested in mating behaviors, mutualistic relationships (and why some animals are more willing to work with members of another species than others) animal intelligence, and changes that may lead to speciation (such as the sea wolves of British Columbia)
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Likes/hobbies include: reading (especially fantasy novels), writing, playing D&D and board/card games, mythology, rum, learning interesting/little-known facts about any subject, and animals of all kinds.