MUSEUM QUEST
ZOOLOGY
Reason for creating website:
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This website serves two linked functions: to the author; a journal and to those with similar interests; a resource. And, so my students can retrieve their power points and syllabuses and whatnot.
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I'm about a thousand years behind in terms of webpage updates. So much to share. Mostly CT scan imagery of Hawaiian honeycreepers (a spectacular adaptive radiation of finches), teaching anecdotes, visiting researcher experiences, conference presentations, a few publications and my recent obsessions with compound light microscopy. Seriously, there is so much life out/in there. Oh, and I'd like to talk about being an aquarist. Tanks and little bowls keep appearing on surfaces, there's no stopping it. I also want to document some fun (depending on what is/isn't fun for you) wildlife encounters.
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The tip of an actual iceberg is better than no iceberg. <-less applicable to mariners at extreme latitudes.
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Thanks for stopping by!
-D
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Research Associate, Database Management and Publication​​
Southeastern Louisiana University Vertebrate Museum in Hammond, LA
Focus: Getting amphibian and reptile collections fully accessioned and online for public viewing
The collections that I manage are curated by Dr. Kyle Piller
Oct 2022 - Oct 2023 (one year post)
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Doctoral Candidate, Biology
Queens College (City Univerity of New York) in Queens, NY
Dissertation: Hyoid Evolution in Hawaiian Honeycreepers
Ph.D. Advisor: Dr. David Lahti (http://lahtilab.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/)
2016 - Present
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Fishmonger!
I sold fish and plants on the internet while living mostly out of my truck in Southeastern Louisiana
Focus: Collecting, quarantining, and shipping live plants and animals, always in accordance with the law
Spring 2020- Aug 2022
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Laboratory Instructor, Intro to Biology II
Queens College in Flushing, NY
Focus: Administering set curriculum in person and then, remotely during Covid
Fall 2019-Spring 2021
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Laboratory Specialist, Biological Sciences
Yeshiva College, Yeshiva University in New York, NY
Focus in: Professor-ing, Laboratory Courses, Pre-Medical Students​​
Technical: Equipment, Managing the Principles of Biology Course, Safety
May 2016 - May 2019
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Adjunct Instructor, Zoology Lecture and Lab
Kean University in Elizabeth, NJ
Focus in: Imparting critical and fun information about zoological science in the classroom, then in the lab
My first year teaching! I taught this class for two semesters while teaching at YU + Dissertation!
Fall 2016-Spring 2017
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Collection Manager, Amphibians and Reptiles
​​Southeastern Louisiana University Vertebrate Museum in Hammond, LA
Focus: Orphan Collections, Taxonomy, Skeletonization, Mentorship of Undergraduate Students
Aug 2013 - Aug 2015
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Master of Science, Biology
​​Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, LA
Thesis: Morphological Variation of the Hyoid Apparatus in Varanid Lizards
Focus: Evolution, Systematics, Lizards, Comparative Anatomy, Advanced Dissection Techniques​​
Member of the Brian Crother lab (link)
Aug 2013 - Aug 2015
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Collections Intern, Amphibians and Reptiles
​Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, IL
Focus: Amphibians, Reptiles, Osteology, Skeletal Articulation
Mentored by Alan Resetar, Collection Manager of Herpetology (link)
2012 - 2013
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Bachelor of the Arts, Biology
​Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY
Major and Minor: Biology and Anthropology respectively
Mentored by Dr. Stanley K. Sessions (link)
Aug 2006 - May 2010
Fall 2016-: PhD Student, Laboratory Teacher/Tech/Planner-Person & Adjunct Professor of Zoology. I'm wearing three hats this fall. My job-job involves taking care of the biology teaching laboratories at Yeshiva College, Yeshiva University (New York, NY). I ensure that safety regulations are met, that the department is stocked and organized and that our modest specimen collection is curated. I teach one biology lab/semester. I also teach zoology lecture and lab at Kean University (Union, NJ). These engagements, to stay stimulated while supporting my habit (graduate studies). My dissertation addresses the evolution of the hyoid apparatus in birds. More on that later. Hopefully, lots more.
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2015-2016: PhD Student. Via support from The Graduate Center (GC), City University of New York. I worked on two pilot projects at the American Museum of Natural History. I used computerized tomography (micro CT scanning) to compare the ocular structures of different snake species in order to better understand how those eyes might have evolved. Spring, I studied the rate and nature of tooth evolution in the small Indian mongoose, a species that has dispersed broadly from it's area of origin and appears to be undergoing some minor changes of the cranium. Is it natural selection? Drift? Combination of both? Conclusion: a more complete specimen record is needed to directly address those questions. Anticlimactic, but this is why we do pilot studies. Anyone have Herpestes aeropunctatus skulls from Trinidad or St. Croix + India that pre-date 1920? That I can borrow? It would sure help!
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2013-2015: Collection Manager and MS Student. My job includes all of the responsibilities that are associated with the curation and care of the growing collection of amphibians and reptiles at Southeastern Louisiana Univerisity and mentoring undergraduates who want to participate. This is the job that came with my graduate assistantship and it, in addition to the number of grad students and faculty who study fish, amphibians, reptiles, biogeography and systematics is what drew me to Southeastern. I later discovered other wonderful things, like Mardi Gras, spanish moss, Zappos potato chips, crawfish boils and an amazing community of scientists and friends.
