Introduction to Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB)
Olivia (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the MSU Integrative Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) programs. Olivia is an active member of the EEB community and has served in a number of roles in the EEB Graduate Group, including serving as President. In 2019, she joined MSU from Augsburg University, where she studied eye evo-devo in branchiopods as undergraduate. In her work, Olivia continues her passion for non-traditional model organisms and investigates the genetic basis of fin development and evolution of non-teleost (gar) vs. teleost (e.g. zebrafish) and other bony fishes. Olivia is an ardent cineast and - while writing and directing her own science-themed short films - she is organizing the Darwin @ The Movies film series.
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How to Apply to Grad School - Grad School Applications 101
Dr. Louise Mead (she/her) is faculty member in the Department of Integrative Biology and serves as the Graduate Program Director for the department and Education Director for the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. Trained as an evolutionary biologist she has a broad range of teaching, research, and administrative experience. Louise started her career as a high school science teacher, obtaining a M.Ed from the University of Massachusetts and then earned a PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology also from the University of Massachusetts. After spending four years as the Education Project Director for the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), she joined the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action at Michigan State University. As Education Director at BEACON for the past ten years, she manages a wide variety of projects focused on interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate training in the STEM disciplines and teaches courses for the Department of Integrative Biology that integrate experiential and active learning.
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Crafting a Compelling Personal Statement
Emily (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the MSU Plant Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) programs. As an active member of the EEB community, Emily has served in a number of roles in the EEB Graduate Group, including serving as the EEB DEI committee co-chair, the EEB Colloquium co-chair, and as a member of the EEB Awards Committee. In 2019, Emily joined MSU from Rutgers University - New Brunswick, where she majored in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources and minored in Urban and Community Forestry. While an undergraduate, her research focused on characterizing the plant communities of urban and rural forests and their seed banks. In her graduate work, Emily continues to work in urban plant communities, however, now her work is focused on understanding potential drivers of plant community assembly within the context of ecological restoration. Carol (she/her) is a PhD student in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior program at MSU. Carol is interested in water quality and freshwater ecology. Specifically, she researches cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes and studies how various environmental factors and climate change contribute to bloom occurrence, extent, and toxicity. Before joining MSU in 2021, Carol completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Sciences and Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and received a master’s degree in Conservation Ecology from the University of Michigan, where she studied how stakeholders’ values and attitudes influence their nutrient management policy preferences. Carol is a member of the Graduate Affairs Committee at Kellogg Biological Station and of the EEB DEI committee. |
Graduate Student Accessibility and Support Network
Brooke (she/her) is a PhD student in the MSU Integrative Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) programs. Brooke is also the founder the Graduate Student Accessibility and Support Network (GSASN). In 2021, she joined MSU from the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she worked as a laboratory technician generating zebrafish models of human diseases. Before, Brooke obtained a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Marquette University, Milwaukee. Brooke is interested in the gene regulatory basis of neural crest development and evolution and is co-advised by Julia Ganz. Brooke has a special green thumb, taking care of a house full of plants at home.
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Funding Opportunities and Paying for Graduate School
Dr. Lauren Sullivan (she/her) is faculty member in the Department of Plant Biology and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior program. In addition to serving as faculty Co-Chair of the EEB DEI committee, Dr. Sullivan is also an active member of the EEB community and oversees a robust research program. The Sullivan lab uses quantitative (both statistical and mathematical) tools to understand plant movement ecology. Dr. Sullivan is broadly interested in how different global change factors like, habitat fragmentation, nutrient loading, and alterations to global herbivore communities influence plant reproduction and dispersal, and the subsequent consequences of this movement for population and community dynamics. She is especially interested in how this movement influences conservation and restoration ecology. Research in her lab focuses on combining field experiments with theoretical models to develop general understanding about the causes and consequences of dispersal, using statistically rigorous experimental results to create assumptions for general theoretical models that can be scaled in time and space.
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