phd students

I am a PhD student in Statistics advised by Ansu Chatterjee. My research interests include classification and clustering methods, dimension reduction methods and geometric probability. As a statistician I enjoy collaborating on applied projects as well. Currently I am working with Prof. John Fieberg to develop an integrated data framework for modeling the spread of aquatic invasive species in Minnesota lakes. When not in front of a computer writing codes in LaTeX or R, I enjoy hiking, photography and playing musical instruments.

As a PhD student, I want to advance our knowledge on how to link both theoretical and practical approaches to the development of ecology. Currently, I am interested in how interactions among individuals of the same species and environmental changes affect animals’ decision-making on their dispersal patterns. I am also interested in how animal movement determines individual fates, which may allow populations to adapt to environmental changes. I am always willing to work with a variety of scientists who are interested in quantitative ecology and animal movement!

In my PhD research, I will work on a project to improve wildlife management by addressing coupled human and natural systems in the Colombian Orinoquia Region. I will collect satellite telemetry and vegetation data that can be used to parameterize models of animal movement and habitat selection, to better understand the impact of habitat loss and future land use changes on large terrestrial mammals.

Fabiola's dissertation focused on two aspects related to survey design and analysis of camera-trap data: differential response across species to survey design strategies in studies aimed at simultaneously collecting data on multiple species, and statistical approaches to minimize or account for correlation when analyzing camera-trap data. Fabiola is now a postdoc at Yale's Center for Biodiversity.  To learn more about Fabiola, read her personal perspective piece in TWS's Wildlife Vocalization series. 

I am a PhD student co-advised by John Fieberg and David Andersen (MN Coop Unit). My research interests include investigating the drivers of animal movement and applying quantitative methods to inform wildlife management and conservation. My current grad research looks at multiple aspects of trumpeter swan movement ecology, genetics, and ecotoxicology. For more information on the swan project go to: https://trumpeterswan.netlify.app/.

I study how watershed and lake features influence transitions between clear and turbid states in shallow lakes. My current projects involve classifying lake states and estimating critical nutrient levels that differentiate highly resilient clear lakes, highly resilient turbid lakes, and lakes that may switch between states due to system perturbations.