PhD Stony Brook University, 2003
I have always been fascinated with the interactions among nature, art, and wellbeing. I view museums as idea colliders that draw people together to create community, share curiosity and wonder, and explore solutions to the challenges that face humanity.
My research lab investigates extinction dynamics and resilience, documenting how organisms respond to environmental change through time. Many of our discoveries derive from Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits in the East African Rift System. My students and I also conduct field studies to explore extinction risks in modern biodiversity hotspots undergoing rapid anthropogenic and natural environmental change. This research connects long-term patterns of habitat change and organismal response with modern ecosystem monitoring to enhance survival of critically endangered species. Interdisciplinary topics include invasive species, landscape alteration for agriculture and human food security, and a particular focus on human-wildlife conflict and public health and wellbeing on the edges of biodiversity hotspots.