People
PI
Gideon Bradburd (he/him)
My research is focused on 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) umich (dot) edu
twitter: (at) gbradburd
Office: 3042 Biological Sciences Building, University of Michigan
My research is focused on 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) umich (dot) edu
twitter: (at) gbradburd
Office: 3042 Biological Sciences Building, University of Michigan
Postdocs & Staff Scientists
Mike Grundler (he/him) I am an evolutionary biologist with a keen interest in vertebrate diversity. In the Bradburd lab, my research focuses on the development of statistical methods for studying comparative patterns of phenotypic variation and population structure.
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.
Seth Temple (he/him) I am a Schmidt AI post-doctoral fellow at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. I am working with Professors Jonathan Terhorst and Gideon Bradburd. I develop statistical methods that make use of genomic and health data to study evolutionary processes. I completed a PhD degree in Statistics at University of Washington - Seattle. I was advised by Professors Sharon Browning and Elizabeth Thompson.
photo credit: Helen Garbarino
Nicole Adams (she/her) I am a bioinformatician in the Bradburd Lab with a focus on ecological genomics in non-model organisms. My research looks at the effects of human-induced environmental change on genetic and morphological variation in natural populations. I am interested in understanding the mechanisms behind rapid adaptation by examining the impact of demographic fluctuations on genetic variation and how standing genetic and morphological variation influence the capacity for resilience. I use genomic tools and museum collections to answer these questions over time and geographic space and seek to improve these methods for non-model organisms.
Chris Talbot (he/him) I am a lab technician in the Bradburd and Weber Labs. My current research interests include developing spatially explicit methods for population genetic inference and investigating rapid evolutionary responses to global change. I completed my honors thesis with Marjorie Weber in early 2024, investigating large-scale spatiotemporal patterns of floral color diversity using community science data.
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.
Alex Lewanski (he/him) I am a first year PhD student in the Bradburd lab at UMichigan and the Fitzpatrick lab at Michigan State. Although the specifics of my PhD work are still in development, I have diverse interests in evolutionary genomics. I am particularly excited by local adaptation and gene flow, how and why these processes vary across space and time, and how these processes interact to influence population persistence and patterns of genetic variation. Prior to joining the Bradburd lab, I completed an MS degree in Katie Wagner’s lab at the University of Wyoming where I studied speciation and hybridization in Lake Tanganyikan cichlid fishes.
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)
Leonard Jones - now Bonderman Fellow (University of Washington)
Rachel Toczydlowski - now Research Scientist at the US Forest Service
Phil Gerrish - Researcher with Georgia Institute of Technology/Los Alamos National Lab
Bob Week - now postdoc at the University of Oregon
Kelsey Yule - now Collections Manager at the NEON Biorepository collections at Arizona State
Matteo Tomasini - Research (Software) Engineer, University of Gothenburg
Emily Puckett - now Assistant Professor at University of Tennessee, Memphis
Rachel Toczydlowski - now Research Scientist at the US Forest Service
Phil Gerrish - Researcher with Georgia Institute of Technology/Los Alamos National Lab
Bob Week - now postdoc at the University of Oregon
Kelsey Yule - now Collections Manager at the NEON Biorepository collections at Arizona State
Matteo Tomasini - Research (Software) Engineer, University of Gothenburg
Emily Puckett - now Assistant Professor at University of Tennessee, Memphis