Principal Investigator
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Edward D. Burress, Ph.D.
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I am broadly interested in macroevolutionary patterns of phenotypic evolution,
ecological diversity, and speciation. I also enjoy learning and employing phylogenetic comparative methods. Most of my work focuses on cichlid fishes, but I also study marine fishes, Caribbean anoles, Southeastern U.S. fishes (minnows and darters), and more recently Appalachian salamanders and freshwater pufferfishes.
Graduate Students
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Luis M. Gonzalez Arocho, Ph.D. student
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Luis joined the Burress Lab in Fall 2023 as a University of Alabama McNair Fellow. Luis recently finished his M.Sc. degree at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, where he was advised by Alberto Puente Rolón. His interests include trophic and microhabitat specialization and its relationship with performance and phenotypic adaptations. In the Burress Lab, Luis plans to study the feeding ecology of sympatric lungless salamanders, specifically focusing on the impact of their specialization along the aquatic-to-terrestrial axis.
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Dartagnan G. Mullins, Ph.D. student
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Dartagnan joined the Burress Lab in Fall 2023, as a recipient of the Aquatic Enhancement Assistantship. Dartagnan recently finished his B.Sc. degree at the University North Carolina - Asheville, where he was advised by Graham Reynolds. Dartagnan's interests include evolutionary ecology, functional morphology, and genetics. In the Burress Lab, Dartagnan plans to study lungless salamanders in the Appalachian Mountain region, specifically functional modularity and coloration.
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Reina Bell, M.Sc. student
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Reina joins the lab in Fall 2025 as part of the Accelerated Master's Program (AMP).
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Olivia Raper, M.Sc. student
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Olivia is co-advised by Phil Harris and John Abbott. She is collaborating with the Burress Lab for one of her thesis chapters, studying the functional morpohology and biomechanics of odonate (dragonfly) mouthparts. She is interested in functional morphology, taxonomy, and aquatic entomology.
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Postdoctoral Researchers
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Brooke L. Bodensteiner, Ph.D.
Brooke joined the lab in January 2025. Brooke recently earned her Ph.D. from Yale University, where she was part of the Muñoz Lab. In the Burress Lab, Brooke is studying the physiological and morphological evolution among squamates, including anoles.
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More here: Website
Undergraduate Students
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​Sofia Jones Rivera, Junior, Pre-Med
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Sofia joined the lab in Spring 2024. Sofia is studying leaf mimicry in freshwater fishes.
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Saraah Zaheer, Sophomore, Pre-Vet
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Saraah joins the lab in Fall 2025.
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Rebecca DeCaro​, Junior, Biology
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Rebecca joins the lab in Fall 2025.
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Affiliate members
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Luna, Senior Doggo
The Lab's resident work-life balance consultant. Her expertise lies in the comparative anatomy and mortality of squeakers with a secondary focus on the biomechanics and locomotion of tennis balls.
Lab Alumni
Madeline Dissinger - 2025, M.Sc., Biology
Macy Schelp - 2025, B.Sc., Biology
Michael Bergeron - 2025, B.Sc., Biology
Berklee Hoffman-White - 2025, B.Sc. Biology
Maria Napolitani - 2024, Visiting Scholar
Kylie Combs - 2024
Sydney Higgenbottom - 2024, B.Sc. Marine Biology.
Justin Aderholt - 2023, B.Sc. Biology.
