About Me
Growing up exploring Pennsylvania State Game Lands with my dad, our yellow lab blazing the trail, I developed a fascination for the organisms around me. While earning my bachelor’s degree at Penn State University, I dove into my first nature job as a guide for an outdoor orientation program, using backpacking to connect incoming freshmen with each other and the natural world. My love of ornithology sprouted while volunteering at the local bird banding station and led to a summer position as a technician for an avian research project at a remote field camp in Arizona. It was an honor to forgo many showers, chase many fledglings, and process many samples with the fellow nature-enthusiasts of Bird Camp! I am now pursuing my master’s degree while studying the winter ecology of the endearingly fierce Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), a declining predatory songbird, and possible effects of agricultural practices across the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Wherever my career may take me, I know my true home will always be waiting in the great outdoors.
About Me
Growing up exploring Pennsylvania State Game Lands with my dad, our yellow lab blazing the trail, I developed a fascination for the organisms around me. While earning my bachelor’s degree at Penn State University, I dove into my first nature job as a guide for an outdoor orientation program, using backpacking to connect incoming freshmen with each other and the natural world. This led me to major in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences so that I could get outside in nature.
My love of ornithology sprouted while volunteering at the local bird banding station on Penn State's campus. The station's master bander and birding community taught me how to set up mist nests and extract, band, and process birds. This experience led to a summer position as a technician for an avian research project at a remote field camp in Arizona. It was an honor to forgo many showers, chase many fledglings, and process many samples with fellow nature enthusiasts of Bird Camp! I then knew that I wanted to get involved with research and went on to get my first grant to pursue and present undergraduate research with my advisor.
I went on to pursue my master’s degree while studying the winter ecology of the endearingly fierce Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), a declining predatory songbird, and the possible effects of agricultural practices across the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. In addition to managing my own field work, I also assisted current and past labmates with their projects and spent one spring traveling across the Eastern US as a technician for a Cerulean Warbler geolocator project. I delved into the world of physiology while collaborating with the Neuman-Lee Lab throughout my MS and became fascinated with the field.
When a grant aligned for a continuation of shrike research at Arkansas State, I decided to continue on to a PhD program at the same institution. I am now co-advised by Drs. Than Boves and Lorin Neuman-Lee. I am still using shrikes as a study system but shifting focus to breeding ecology and toxicology. I am integrating genotoxicity, immunology, and physiology to look at the potential impacts of agricultural toxins. I have gained many skills in the field, lab, and classroom setting throughout my academic career. I look forward to continuing to expand and hone these skills in a research and/or teaching position. Wherever my career may take me, I know my true home will always be waiting in the great outdoors.
Education
Ph.D in Molecular Biosciences
Current Program
Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR
Co-advisors: Dr. Than Boves and Dr. Lorin Neuman-Lee
Outstanding Biology Graduate Student, 2020
Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR
B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Advisor: Dr. Margaret Brittingham
Graduate Experiences
Some of my fellow Boves Lab members (past and current)
Master's Thesis
On a whim, I decided to apply for a position at Arkansas State University with Dr. Than Boves looking into the understudied non-breeding biology of the Loggerhead Shrike in an area of intensive agriculture. I never imagined myself moving to the southeast, but now I am so grateful for making the decision to move to Arkansas.
For my Master's thesis, I studied the winter ecology of the fiercely charismatic Loggerhead Shrike in Northeast Arkansas. These grassland-associated birds in the altered landscape of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, which has been converted almost entirely to intensive agriculture. My research focused on foraging behavior, apparent survival, site fidelity and movement, and habitat selection using both remotely sensed data and measurements from the field. I specifically examined the preferred winter prey, foraging microhabitats, and foraging success rates of shrikes. I also compared shrike non-breeding habitat use, site fidelity, and survival across demographic groups (by age and sex).
Undergraduate Experiences
Upon entering college, I completed a backpacking orientation. This experience sparked my love of hiking and led me to join the Penn State Outing Club (PSOC), received her BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Penn State University in 2017. She served as an officer of the Penn State Outing Club, heading fundraising efforts for a student-run philanthropy called THON, and worked for the AURORA Outdoor Orientation Program, guiding incoming freshmen on backpacking excursions. Experience gained at the Penn State bird banding station allowed Em to secure a field job in Northern Arizona, where she lived in a remote field camp and assisted with studies on a high elevation, avian community.where I joined a small group making up the THON division. I eventually went on to represent my club as a dancer and become the overall chair. I grasp onto new opportunities and allow them to guide me to the next.
