CETI Center for Evolutionary & Theoretical Immunology

Education
B.S. Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
M.S. Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Ph.D. Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Research interests
Host-parasite evolution, invertebrate immunology, biology and systematics of the phylum Nematomorpha.

Current projects
Horsehair worms (phylum Nematomorpha) are parasites of insects, but are free-living in aquatic environments as adults. They are fascinating from an ecological/behavioral perspective, as these parasites modify host behavior, leading the definitive host to enter water, where the adult worms are released. Since morphological identification of horsehair worms larvae is problematic, a novel molecular approach is being used to identify larvae in hosts. This will facilitate linking of the juvenile and adult stages, essential to understanding each species' ecology and life history. The proposed research will also greatly increase our understanding of these parasites by documenting their diversity and evolutionary relationships in the New World using DNA and anatomical characteristics.
This project represents a major advance in the study of a very interesting, phylogenetically key, but poorly known phylum. The results are likely to have an impact on our understanding of the evolution of ecdysozoans, including model organisms in the phyla Arthropoda and Nematoda. The ultimate goal of this project is to understand better the phylogenetic relationships of these parasites, to make their subsequent study more tractable.