Gonzalo Giribet
I am interested in understanding the origins and maintenance of animal diversity. To do that my lab focuses on different aspects of systematics, biogeography, phylogeography, anatomy, transcriptomics, ecology, behavior or population genetics of invertebrate animals. Some of our work uses arthropods, mollusks, onychophorans, sipunculans, annelids, platyhelminths, sponges, or nemerteans, among others.
ggiribet[at]g.harvard.edu
Bridget Power, Faculty Assistant
Bridget is the Faculty Assistant for the Giribet lab handling all administrative duties for Professor Giribet and Giribet lab members. Bridget is the liason between the Giribet lab and the OEB Administration Department.
bridgetpower[at]fas.harvard.edu
Ligia Benavides, Postdoctoral Fellow
I am broadly interested in the systematics and evolution of diverse groups of arachnids, mainly spiders, opiliones and hooded tick spiders (family Ricinodidae). I have special interest in groups present in the Afrotropical and Neotropical regions. I employ a variety of novel morphological and molecular approaches to describe their diversity and to investigate how historical events have shaped the present diversity of these groups in the tropics.
lbenavidessilva[at]g.harvard.edu
Juan Moles, Postdoctoral Fellow
Winter is coming! I am an Antarctic expeditioner, diver, and snail lover interested in marine invertebrate ecology and systematics. During my PhD, I dove into the ecology, taxonomy, and systematics of sea slug and snail molluscs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia). Although cold and isolated, Antarctic marine ecosystems are far from being badlands. Applying histology, electron microscopy, tomographic, and molecular techniques I attempt to describe some lineages of the Southern Ocean unique and diverse fauna. One of my current projects aims to provide new insights into the evolutionary patterns and historical processes that lead to the radiation and current distribution of the Antarctic fauna.
moles.sanchez[at]gmail.com
Shahan Derkarabetian, Postdoctoral Fellow
My primary interest is in the arachnid order Opiliones (more commonly called harvestmen) where I focus on the systematics and evolution of Laniatores, the most diverse harvestmen suborder. As a systematist, I have an interest in systematic methodology including phylogenetics, species delimitation, morphometrics, integrative taxonomy, and in particular molecular systematic methods. In this regard I utilize various next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic methods as tools to explore the evolution of harvestmen. In addition, all things to do with the evolution of cave taxa interests me, particularly the evolution and genetics of convergent cave-adaptive morphology.
sderkarabetian[at]gmail.com
Aaron Hartmann, Hrdy Fellow in Conservation Biology
I study marine ecology and conservation, primarily in coral reef ecosystems. I am particularly interested in how early life history strategies influence environmental tolerance, the evolution of mutualist symbiont transmission modes, how human impacts on the ocean influence coral offspring survival, and how metabolites diversify in marine communities. Through my research I try to understand how coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems will fare in the face of ongoing environmental change and generate tools to mitigate these impacts.
aaron.hartmann[at]gmail.com
Tauana Cunha, Graduate Student
My research interests are driven by the incredible diversity and beauty of marine invertebrates - yes, the small squishy things in the oceans! My graduate work focuses on inferring phylogenetic relationships among gastropods - from fieldwork and wet lab work to bioinformatics - and on using phylogenies to understand the biogeography of the group in the marine environment and the evolution of shell shape through geological time. To do that, I combine high-throughput molecular data and morphological data from fossil and extant snail shells. I received my B.S. in Biological Sciences from the Universidade de São Paulo, in Brazil.
tauanacunha[at]g.harvard.edu
Caitlin Baker, Graduate Student
I am interested in the evolution and diversity of soil invertebrates, particularly harvestmen (Opiliones) and velvet worms (Onychophora). These are ancient, poorly dispersing terrestrial animals that live in dark, humid habitats around the world. I use genetic and genomic tools paired with comparative morphology to study their taxonomy, systematics, and biogeographic patterns in the southern hemisphere – landmasses which once comprised the supercontinent Gondwana. Currently, I’m studying the global biogeographic patterns of the phylum Onychophora, the mite harvestman family Pettalidae (Cyphophthalmi), and the armored harvestman family Triaenonychidae (Laniatores). I am also working on a phylogeographic study of the New Zealand velvet worm Peripatoides.
baker.caitlin[at]gmail.com
Vanessa Knutson, Graduate Student
I am interested in the evolution of shell-loss in gastropods. As a part of my interest in shell loss, I am currently working on a transcriptome-based phylogeny for the gastropod clade Heterobranchia.
vknutson[at]g.harvard.edu
You can follow Vanessa on Twitter @Bugs_and_Slugs
Shoyo Sato, Graduate Student
Arachnophobes beware! Spiders can live in colonies of hundreds of individuals that prey and maintain webs together. How does this happen? Shoyo, a Cantabridgian, received his bachelor’s in biology from Boston University and is now working in collaboration with the Jordan Lab at the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology’s Department of Collective Behavior to study the phylogeny and communication of social spiders.
shoyosato[at]g.harvard.edu
Kate Sheridan, Research Assistant
I am currently working on studying the diversity of the harvestman family Triaenonychidae in South Africa, as well as assisting with a variety of projects for the Museum of Comparative Zoology Invertebrate Zoology department collections. My interests are largely in the biodiversity of under-appreciated and under-studied animals as well as using my work to bridge the perceived gap between arts and sciences.
ksheridan[at]fas.harvard.edu
Elena Moncada, Undergraduate Student
I am an OEB undergraduate interested in genetics and marine biology, and I am excited to be working on my senior thesis at the Giribet lab! I am focusing on a family of small surf clams that are found throughout the world called Donacidae, and my goal is to create a global phylogeny for this family. I am working with specimens from the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, as well as some I collected myself from my own travels, and from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris that I visited last spring.
ejmoncada[at]college.harvard.edu
Liz Roux, Undergraduate Student
Adventure is out there! I am an undergraduate interested in marine biology and phylogeography. I am currently pursuing my senior thesis on the phylogeographic differentiation of Bdelloura candida, a marine triclad ectocommensal on Limulus polyphemus, the American horseshoe crab.
elizabethroux[at]college.harvard.edu