It takes more than one person to create research successes. 

I joined the lab in February 2025. My research focuses on applying machine learning techniques to animal movement, using data-driven approaches to better understand spatial dynamics of Chronic Wasting Disease.

I earned my Master’s in Applied Data Science from New College of Florida, where my final semester included a practicum internship with the USDA, applying machine learning to ecological data. After graduating, I continued this trajectory as an ORISE fellow, working on integrating machine learning techniques to study cervid behavior. This experience marked the beginning of my work in movement ecology and solidified my passion for using data science to address ecological questions. I am broadly interested in quantitative ecology, artificial intelligence applications in wildlife research. Outside of work, I enjoy playing video games, exploring new programming techniques, listening to music, and spending time with my cat.

I joined the lab in Fall 2023 to study movement ecology of Least Terns and Black Skimmers along the Mississippi coast, in collaboration with Audubon Delta. I am from Knoxville, TN, where I got my start in ecology and ornithology as an undergraduate student in Biological Sciences at the University of Tennessee. I later completed a Master of Science in Biology at Arkansas State University. I have worked on a variety of ecological field research projects, often studying songbird species of conservation concern like Cerulean Warblers, Golden-winged Warblers, and Loggerhead Shrikes. I have also contributed to studies of Northern Bobwhites and secretive marsh birds, as well as other taxa like reptiles, amphibians, and plants. My research interests include species-habitat relationships, population ecology, and spatial aspects of ecology like movements and space use, migration, distributions, and landscape ecology. I am also interested in conducting research that is relevant to conservation efforts. In my free time, I enjoy birding, photography, the outdoors, books, music, coffee, etc.

I joined the lab in Fall 2025 as a PhD student. My current research focuses on agent-based modeling to understand wildlife detection probabilities and wildlife-human interactions using drones. I am originally from India and have been enthusiastic about tiger ecology and behavior since childhood. I completed my master’s in wildlife sciences from the University of Missouri, where my research focused on understanding large carnivore occupancy in Indravati Tiger Reserve, India. Prior to this, I earned two Master’s degrees in India – one where I worked on tiger corridor mapping for central India – and one where I evaluated forest biomass. I have also worked as a biologist and GIS analyst in two tiger reserves and as a data analyst with Playa Lakes Joint Venture in the U.S. where I conducted avian assessments. I am currently involved in a project known as Urban Tiger Conservation and I have also worked extensively on women’s education and training programs across different tiger reserves in central India, focusing on capacity building, community engagement, and empowering women to participate in conservation initiatives. Outside my research, I enjoy writing poems and articles, wildlife photography, playing chess, trekking, and exploring the world.

I joined the lab in summer 2024 as a MSc graduate student. I am researching catfish movement ecology and pond microbiology and do my work at the National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville, MS. I am from Jackson, MS, but now I call Starkville home. I graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelors of Science with a concentration in Conservation Biology. I have a special interest in wildlife disease ecology and I have a variety of fieldwork experience including moist soil impoundment ecology; waterfowl ecology and monitoring; bat ecology, acoustic telemetry and capture; and museum specimen preparation and research. I am an active member of The Wildlife Society and the Mississippi Bat Working Group. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my four siblings and my two cats (Jinx and Spooky), hiking and exploring, running, gardening, and reading. Currently, I am working on developing my field journal (@lilysfieldjournal) into a podcast and learning as much as I can to develop my skills as a wildlife biologist and researcher.  

I joined the lab in Spring 2026. I am working to correct biases associated with thermal roadside surveys used for white-tailed deer monitoring. I am from Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and I received my bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I have worked on a variety of different projects, including mist netting for bats in Arkansas and conducting avian mortality surveys on wind farms in Iowa. Other experiences involved small mammal trapping, chronic wasting disease surveys, and remote camera deployments. I am also Firefighter Type 2 certified. My research interests include population ecology, wildlife disease ecology, and the management of threatened or endangered species. In my free time, I enjoy going on walks, listening to music, reading, and solving crosswords.

I joined the lab in the summer of 2026 as an MSc graduate student. My research focuses on correcting biases associated with thermal roadside surveys of white-tailed deer in collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. I grew up in Colorado and received my bachelors degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado. I have spent the last five years as a wildlife technician working on a variety of projects in the west that have deepened my passion for wildlife research; including reintroducing California condors into the redwoods, tracking mountain lions, monitoring Mexican wolves and studying elk survival in Colorado. Each experience has furthered my passions and research interests to include wildlife-human interactions, wildlife behavior and ecological interactions, and inter-disciplinary based management. In my free time I enjoy hiking, camping, backpacking or really any excuse to be outside with the critters.

I joined the lab in Fall 2025, as a Fulbright scholarship awardee on a Masters program.

My research experiences are based on surveying dugongs at Aldabra, conducting the first systematic drone survey. In an effort to inform stakeholders on baseline population numbers, this led me to apply for the scholarship in order to learn more on sirenians and drones. I am currently studying manatees as a surrogate species to gather more skills to keep on studying dugongs. I am interested in manatee body condition, ecology, and other drone applications. My bachelor's degree was obtained at the University of Plymouth in Marine Biology (hons), U.K. I have also surveyed Red Footed Booby using drones and participated in various other non-drone related surveys such as Green and Hawksbill turtles (nesting and tagging), Aldabra Giant tortoise (tissue sampling), Red footed booby (blood sampling), Octopus, Sea cucumber, Spiny lobster abundance surveys. All of which I did in my home country-the Seychelles islands. Besides wildlife, I am an enjoyer of life and thrill seeker. Some of my  interests include hiking, scuba diving and riding my motorcycle, but for a cozy night in nature documentaries and cooking island food. Thanks for reading :-)

I joined the lab in the Spring of 2026, and I am working to observe the movements of birds and small mammals around poultry facilities at Mississippi State South Farm. I am from Festus, Missouri, which is just South of St. Louis, but I received my Bachelor’s in Biology from Truman State University in Kirksville. In the past, I worked with fungal pathogens like Fusarium oxysporum, observing the relationships with sympatric nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria, identifying insects for the school collection, and doing American burying beetle surveys for the Saint Louis Zoo. I have research interests in disease ecology and wildlife interactions, making this a very exciting project for me! Outside of research, I enjoy playing video games, going to concerts, and reading dystopian novels.