2024–2025 STEGG-INTERACT Cohort
Sebastian Alvarez
Mentor: Kory Evans (Rice University)
Co-mentor: Richard Meisel (University of Houston)
Project: Molecular underpinnings of parrotfish beak convergent evolution
Elise Baugh
Mentor: William Murphy (Texas A&M University)
Co-mentor: Richard Meisel (University of Houston)
Project: Genetic mechanisms of hybridization: Co-evolution of recombination rates and gene content in savannah cat breeding
Michaela Butler
Mentor: Scott Egan (Rice University)
Co-mentor: Kerri M. Crawford (University of Houston)
Project: Does hybridization affect soil microbial community composition,functional diversity, and species abundance?
Gwendolyne Fields
Mentor: Erin Kelleher (University of Houston)
Co-mentor: Heath Blackmon (Texas A&M University)
Project: Identifying and constructing a phylogeny of P-element families in Drosophila genus and identifying cases of horizontal transfer
Zhaobo Hu
Mentor: Heath Blackmon (Texas A&M University)
Co-mentor: Scott Egan (Rice University)
Project: Within-genome variation in gene density across vertebrates
Olivia LaRochelle
Mentor: Ricardo Azevedo (University of Houston)
Co-mentor: Heath Blackmon (Texas A&M University)
Project: Genetic incompatibilities driving reproductive isolation in phylogenies
Sophia J. LaRochelle
Mentor: Julia Saltz (Rice University)
Co-mentor: Richard Meisel (University of Houston)
Project: How does artificial light at night impact susceptibility to evolutionary traps in Drosophila melanogaster?
Maria Nava Martinez
Mentor: Richard Meisel (University of Houston)
Co-mentor: Julia Saltz (Rice University)
Project: Aggression and aging differences between male genotypes in the housefly (Musca domestica)
Alex Yenne
Mentor: Rebecca Zufall (University of Houston)
Co-mentor: Aaron Tarone (Texas A&M University)
Project: Studying effects of predator-prey interactions on thermal performance curve evolution in an experimental system of ciliates and bacteria