People
PI
Gideon Bradburd (he/him)
My research is focused around incorporating geography into statistical methods for studying population structure, admixture, demography, local adaptation, and natural selection in a variety of empirical systems.
More info: [CV], [Google Scholar], [github], [SSE profile of me].
Contact: bradburd (at) msu (dot) edu
twitter: (at) gbradburd
Office: 153 Giltner Hall, Michigan State University
My research is focused around incorporating geography into statistical methods for studying population structure, admixture, demography, local adaptation, and natural selection in a variety of empirical systems.
More info: [CV], [Google Scholar], [github], [SSE profile of me].
Contact: bradburd (at) msu (dot) edu
twitter: (at) gbradburd
Office: 153 Giltner Hall, Michigan State University
Postdocs
Rachel Toczydlowski (she/her) My research centers on understanding what drives spatial patterns of genetic diversity among populations and species, and how these affect the ability of organisms to respond to ecological change. For my dissertation, I combined classic field methods (e.g. common gardens) and next-gen sequencing to study population genetics, local adaptation, and inbreeding in Impatiens capensis (UW-Madison, 2019). In the Bradburd Lab, I am tackling synthetic analyses of spatial population genetic data across geographic and macroevolutionary scales. I am currently investigating what drives genetic diversity and divergence in the world's oceans. I am also continuing collaborations with visual artists, social scientists, and foresters on a variety of ongoing research and outreach projects.
Bob Week (she/her/they/them) Mathematical evolutionary ecologist studying interspecific coevolution. Interests include evolution along the mutualism-parasitism continuum, statistical methods to measure coevolution from phenotypic and genomic data, and the consequences of coevolution for ecological communities.
Zach Hancock (he/him) I am an evolutionary biologist with an interest in molecular evolution, phylogenetics, and spatial population genetics. I completed my PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Texas A&M University in October 2020, where I combined empirical and simulation approaches to address the impacts of spatial structure on phylogenetic inference. In the Bradburd lab, I work to develop and test models for a range of questions in spatial population genetics, including the influence of drift between ancient and modern samples on demographic inference, limited range sampling on estimates of long-term effective sizes, and the impact of continuous structure on species delimitation methods. In my free time I dabble in crustacean systematics, especially the evolution and biogeography of haustoriid amphipods.
Leonard Jones (he/him) I joined the Bradburd lab in Jan 2021 after completing my PhD at the University of Washington Fall 2020. My dissertation work leveraged high-throughput sequence data and coalescent methods to infer population level and deep phylogenetic histories in multiple snake systems. I am currently using simulated and empirical data to characterize the influence of tree-like structure between populations on the inference of population structure and admixture in space.
PhD students
Meaghan Clark (she/her) I am a third year PhD candidate in the Bradburd and Fitzpatrick labs and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior program. My research interests focus on temporal changes in genetic diversity and relatedness, especially associated with population decline. For my dissertation, I’m using genetic samples from long-term monitoring studies to test for inbreeding and inbreeding depression in small, fragmented populations of eastern massasauga rattlesnakes, and using forward-time simulations to investigate the consequences of age structure and overlapping generations on declining populations. I completed my MS studying genetic and phenotypic variation in red-eyed treefrogs with Jeanne Robertson at Cal State Northridge.
Visiting scholars
Kirsty MacLeod (she/her) I am a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist with broad interests in maternal investment, reproductive systems, stress physiology, and sociality. I'm fascinated by how individuals interact with one another and their environment, how those interactions affect physiology and behaviour, and how this contributes to evolution and shapes vertebrate communities. My current and recent work investigates how physiological stress during gestation influences offspring morphology, behaviour, and survival. I am based at Lund University in Sweden, but when I'm passing through MSU, the Bradburd lab is my home away from home.
Other lab personnel
Abraham Oak Weber-Bradburd I am co-advised by Gideon Bradburd and Marjorie Weber. My research is focused on developing rudimentary motor control and (parental fingers desperately crossed) circadian sleep rhythms.
Eloise Wolf Weber-Bradburd I am co-advised by Gideon Bradburd and Marjorie Weber. My research is focused on developing new forms of dance, notions of personal property and, concurrently, the ability to share that property (work ongoing). Future research plans include sleeping in a little bit later on weekends.
Banjo woof!
GradBurds (Lab alumni)
Emily Puckett - now Assistant Professor at University of Tennessee, Memphis
Kelsey Yule - now Collections Manager at the NEON Biorepository collections at Arizona State
Matteo Tomasini - now postdoc at University of Gothenburg
Kelsey Yule - now Collections Manager at the NEON Biorepository collections at Arizona State
Matteo Tomasini - now postdoc at University of Gothenburg