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Biography

I grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I was greatly influenced by my experiences at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Saint Mary's School. I always wanted to be a veterinarian, but my career path changed after I took a paleontology course during my sophomore year of college. I earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from North Carolina State University in 2012 and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Ohio University in 2019, where I worked with Dr. Larry Witmer. I worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the Open Vertebrate (oVert) NSF grant in Dr. Dave Blackburn's lab at the Florida Museum of Natural History from 2019-2020, and now I hold the position of Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Curriculum Vitae Highlights

I have experience with public speaking and outreach and have served in leadership roles for the Biological Sciences Graduate Society at Ohio University as well as an advisory role for the Ohio University Cafe Series. I have been a Teaching Assistant of Clinical Gross Anatomy in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, which gave me experience with formal instruction using human cadavers. In addition, I have the following skills relevant to my work in paleontology and evolutionary biology.

Virtual Reconstruction Techniques

Much of my data are collected using CT scans. I process them digitally and create virtual models of the anatomical structures of interest in my specimens. To do so, I have used Avizo, Maya, Mudbox, Deep Exploration, Adobe Acrobat, Houdini, and Adobe Premiere.

photo by North Carolina State University Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences

Dissection of Vertebrates

I have gained familiarity with the anatomy of humans and of archosaurs such as crocodilians and birds by dissecting cadaveric specimens.

photo by WitmerLab

Field Experience

I have collected fossils in the Tertiary Castle Hayne Formation of North Carolina, the Oligocene Chadron and Brule Formations of Nebraska, and the Pleistocene of South Dakota.

photo by Paul Brinkman

Fossil Preparation

I have experience preparing fossils from the Pleistocene of South Dakota and the Late Cretaceous of Utah.

photo by Mary Virginia Swain

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