POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER: CLAUDINÉIA COSTA
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Dr. Costa received her PhD from the University of São Paulo in Brazil studying the population dynamics of orchid bees in different areas in the Atlantic Forest. She is an expert in molecular biology and has worked with bees for over 10 years, with additional experience in developmental biology and the mechanisms that regulate metamorphosis. In the Woodard lab, she is currently studying the mechanisms controlling larval development in bumble bees, and the regulation of queen brood care behavior. Her work is supported by the National Science Foundation, the US-Israel Binational Agricultural Research & Development Fund, and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation.
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Data TECHNICIAn
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Brianne Du Clos earned her PhD in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine. Her dissertation research examined the landscape ecology of Maine’s lowbush blueberry agroecosystem; using an interdisciplinary approach, she assessed how landscape pattern influences native bee communities in and around lowbush blueberry fields. She is broadly interested in pollinator conservation and geospatial data analysis. At UCR, she is the data technician for the US National Native Bee Monitoring Network Research Coordination Network, for which she is managing an online database of native bee occurrence across the country.
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phd candidate: kaleigh Fisher
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Kaleigh is a 5th-year PhD candidate studying gustation in bumble bees. She is broadly interested in plant-pollinator interactions across natural and managed systems, including how varying levels of agricultural intensification influence pollinator foraging behavior and population and community dynamics. In her PhD research, Kaleigh is exploring several aspects of taste in bumble bees, including the tissue-specific expression of genes involved in taste perception, how taste helps bumble bees make foraging decisions, and how task partitioning in the nest is mediated in part by mechanisms related to taste and nutrient sensing. Kaleigh's work is supported by NIFA.
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phd CANDIDATE: natalie Fischer
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Natalie is a 4th-year PhD candidate using metabolomic approaches to study how nutrition, stressors, and early developmental processes impacts bumble bee physiology and behavior. Natalie has broad interests in physiology, behavior, and ecology, and is particularly interested in applying computational approaches to the study of bee behavior. Natalie is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and NSF NRT Computational Entomology Fellow.
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PHD candidate: ERICA SARRO
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Erica is a 4th year PhD candidate who is broadly interested in social evolution, plant-pollinator interactions, and insect behavior. Her PhD research is focused on the behavioral plasticity of early nesting queen bumble bees, with an emphasis on understanding how foraging mechanics, environmental sensitivity, and selective pressures vary among the solitary and social phases of the bumble bee life cycle. Erica is an NSF NRT Computational Entomology Fellow.
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JUNIOR SPECIALIST: Blanca Ortega
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Blanca is a recent UCR graduate with a dual Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish who is running lab and field experiments in the lab. She is broadly interested in social behavior, reproduction, and community dynamics. As an undergrad, she worked in the tissue-specific expression of taste perception genes in bumble bees, mentored by PhD candidate Kaleigh Fisher. She will be pursuing a PhD with the lab beginning in Fall 2021.
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JUNIOR SPECIALIST: YADIRA DIAZ
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Yadira is a recent UCR graduate who has worked with the Woodard lab for several years now. During this time she was mentored by Postdoctoral Researcher Claudinéia Costa. She is currently running multiple lab experiments on larval development and early colony development. She is pursuing a career in a health-related field.
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Undergraduate Researcher: ALEX BRINKLEY
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Alex is a Biology major and Chancellor's Research Fellow who is passionate about research and pursuing a career in both medicine and biomedical research. His research in the Woodard lab primarily focuses on bee energetics. Alex is interested in studying and developing new methods that ultimately help us to better preserve bees and understand social dynamics within colonies. He is mentored by PhD candidate Natalie Fischer.
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Undergraduate Researcher:
DAMARIS RODRIGUEZ-Arellano
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Damaris is an undergraduate Honors student majoring in Biology. She wants to pursue a career in the medical field but is still very interested in research and wants to make significant contributions to the scientific community. She is extremely passionate about the environment, and acknowledges that bees are an essential part of global sustainability. She intends to use this passion to understand the role that bees play on earth, their anatomy, and what we can do to protect these little critters. She is mentored by PhD candidate Erica Sarro.
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Undergraduate Researcher:
Brianna BAEZA
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Brianna is an undergraduate student majoring in biology. She aspires to continue onto graduate school and become an animal biology professor at a community college. Her main goal as a professor is to serve as a bridge to bring STEM into local underrepresented communities. She is driven by curiosity, which is brought to fruition through ongoing bee projects. Her hope is to acquire new techniques both in and out of the lab to better understand and conserve key players, such as the bumble bees, in our ecosystems. She is mentored by PhD candidate Erica Sarro.
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Lab Alums:
- Kristal Watrous (Assistant Specialist 2015-2020)
- Yadira Diaz (undergraduate researcher 2018-2020)
- Blanca Ortega (undergraduate researcher 2018-2020)
- Christie Miranda (undergraduate researcher 2018-2020)
- Alexandra Vanacek (undergraduate researcher and Junior Specialist 2016-2019)
- Gina Zhuo (undergraduate researcher 2018)
- Stephanie Reimer (undergraduate researcher 2017-2018)
- Fernanda Ambrosio (undergraduate researcher 2018)
- Vanessa Uribe (visiting undergraduate researcher from Brown University, summer 2018)
- Phong Hong (undergraduate researcher 2017-2018) is now a Fulbright Scholar in Germany
- Michelle Duennes (USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow 2016-2018) is now an Assistant Professor at Saint Vincent College
- Mauricio Flores (undergraduate researcher 2017-2018)
- Brian Dinh (undergraduate researcher 2017)
- Rebecca Moon (undergraduate researcher 2017)
- Ariel Bohr (volunteer 2016)
- Sunakshi Garg (undergraduate researcher 2015-2016) has graduated with a BS from UCR and will be attending medical school
- Parry Kietzman (lab technician 2015) is now a postdoc in Dave Tarpy's lab at NCSU