Principal Investigator
Edward D. Burress, Ph.D.
Graduate Students
Luis M. Gonzalez Arocho, Ph.D. student
Luis joins the Burress Lab in Fall 2023 as a University of Alabama McNair Fellow. Luis is currently finishing his M.Sc. degree at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, where he is advised by Alberto Puente Rolón. His interests include microhabitat specialization and its relationship with performance and phenotypic adaptations. In the Burress Lab, Luis plans to study lungless salamanders, specifically their microhabitat selection and how it intersects with locomotor performance and phenotpyic innovations.
Dartagnan G. Mullins, Ph.D. student
Dartagnan joins the Burress Lab in Fall 2023, as a recipient of the Aquatic Enhancement Assistantship. Dartagnan is currently finishing his B.Sc. degree at the University North Carolina - Asheville, where he is 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 the macroevolutionary implications of feeding performance, functional innovations, and biogeography.
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Postdoctoral Scholars
Rafaela Missagia, Ph.D.
Dr. Missagia joins the Burress Lab in January 2024. Rafaela is currently finishing a postdoc at the Field Museum, where she is advised by Bruce Patterson. Rafaela is interested in jaw morphology and its ecological and evolutionary consequences. Her work has focused on the evolution of carnivory in Neotropical rodents. In the Burress Lab, Rafaela plans to study functional trade-offs associated with vertebrate jaw systems and their implications for adaptive landscapes.
Undergraduate Students
Justin Aderholt, Senior
Michael Bergeron, Sophomore