People
Earley Lab Alumni - Undergraduate and Research Students
Proceed with caution! Pictures are from their time in the Earley lab (a blast from the past for some!).
I would like to thank all of these folks for their contributions to the Earley lab over the years! Job well done!

Albert Aguilera
CSU Fresno (2006-2008). Albert Aguilera graduated from CSU, Fresno with a B.S. in Health Science, Community Health in 2009. He completed his Master of Public Health at UC Davis in 2011. He will be continuing a PhD in Nutrition at UC Davis under Dr. Lucia Kaiser working on a school based-obesity intervention in Central California funded by the USDA AFRI grant. He also plans to pursue an MD in Pediatrics.

Josh Aquino
University of Alabama (2009-2011). Collaborated with Mark Garcia on his graduate project on the behavioral effects of winning/losing experiences, and has identified the CREB gene in Anolis brains.

Mitchell Belue
University of Alabama (2011-2013). Collaborated with Mark Garcia to examine phenotypic variation among lineages of the mangrove rivulus held under common garden conditions. He also assisted with the quantification of brain parasite loads in California killifish in collaboration with Kelly Weinersmith. Mitch is now off to pursue a Masters at Alabama A&M with the ultimate goal of veterinary school.

Tom Bertalan
University of Alabama (2010-2012). Tom spearheaded the development of simulation models that examine the development of social hierarchies in animals (see jobserverpub.tombertalan.com). He is expanding the project into a multi-level simulation by addressing cellular-level and neural-circuit-level dynamics as well as their population-level consequences. Tom has joined the PhD program at Princeton University!

Jessica Bhanasy
University of Alabama (2009). Romantic therapist II for convict cichlid pair bonds; collaborated with Stephanie Wong on her graduate project.

Brooke Bradley
University of Alabama (2010). Collaborated with Mark Garcia's team on the neurobiological and metabolic correlates of winning and losing experience in the green anole lizard

Alysha Broughton
University of Alabama (2012-2013). A member of the convict cichlid team that investigated the relationship between female color and male mate choice. Participated in all activities related to the project, including dissection, behavioral quantification and experimental setup. Started in the lab working primarily with animal husbandry and simply fell in love with the fish! Alysha is now off to study the culinary arts in St. Louis!

Ben Brown
University of Alabama (2009-2010). Frozen tissue processor extraordinaire! Collaborated with Boopathy Sivaraman on his graduate project to determine tissue glucose/glycogen concentrations and to evaluate aggressive behavior following pharmacological manipulations of the neuroendocrine stress axis.
Janet Campbell
CSU Fresno (2006-2008).I am entering a zoology PhD program at Washington State University in Pullman, under the direction of Dr. Gary Thorgaard. The labs main goal is conservation issues and the genetics of domestication of Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) and Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (chinook salmon). I will be working on behavior and stress issues via QTL linkage mapping, microarray, and hormone analysis. Haven't really narrowed down the specific project yet, but I hope to include field work looking at environmental components that are influencing stress and behavior in both wild and domestic trout. I have many ideas!

Ashley Bryant
University of Alabama (2011-2012). Ashley was a member of a team of undergraduates who investigated genotypic differences in swimming performance in the mangrove rivulus plus the effects of swim training on muscle physiology.

Paige Cantrell
University of Alabama (2009).Gill histology
Alex Cheah
CSU Fresno (2007-2008). I am currently studying Biology with an emphasis on Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental. I am hoping to graduate Spring 2010 so I can get more into the research world. Planning to seek higher education in the Biology field, with more focus on Developmental Biology.

Leah Cheney
University of Alabama (2011-2012). Leah was an integral member of the temperature-dependent sex determination crew, led by Kay Rainey and Jake Powers. Leah staged the embryos of mangrove rivulus, and assisted with dissections and histology as well as animal care and maintenance.
Donald Copeland
CSU Fresno (2006-2008). I am currently at the University of Akron working towards a Ph.D. in Integrated Bioscience in Dr. Richard Londraville's lab. I am interested in hormonal regulation of energy and metabolism and so I am studying the cytokine hormone, leptin. While well understood in mammals, very little is known about how this small peptide, which is involved in nearly all energetically costly systems (ex: feeding, metabolic rate, reproduction, and heat production), functions in lower vertebrates such as fish. I am currently using E. coli to express and purify recombinant leptin from common carp, Cyprinus carpio; a feat which has never been done. In collaborating with polymer science center here at the University of Akron, I hope to study its long term effects by using polymer-based hormone delivery systems that would allow me to deliver steady leptin doses for several months to koi fish (fancy carp).

Gabriell Davis
University of Alabama (2010-2011). Behavior quantification in mangrove rivulus groups. Collaborating with Adam Fuller on his graduate projects, including assistance in model fabrication (to elicit aggressive responses in rivulus) and field assistance for bluenose shiner research. Gabriell also collaborates with Amanda Hanninen on metabolic plasticity in the mangrove rivulus, and she is developing an independent research project on behavioral deceit during aggressive interactions.

Matthew Davis
University of Alabama (2009).Collaborated with Mark Garcia on his graduate project; whereabouts unknown!

Jessica Delo
University of Alabama (2008-2009). Jessica worked with us in Alabama to begin scoping out field sites for our Anolis lizard work. She is planning to do an internship at the Atlanta Zoo in July to get some experience working closely with animals. She is applying for numerous jobs that parallel her interests in exotic (and large) animal care and research

Michael Dobbins
University of Alabama (2012-2013). Collaborated with Mark Garcia to quantify boldness, activity, and risk-taking behavior in mangrove rivulus fish.

Heidi Dunbar
CSU Fresno (2006-2008).
Mark Dykstra
CSU Fresno (2007). Mark visited us from Dordt College (Iowa) and he is in medical school at the University of Alberta.

Benjamin East
University of Alabama (2010). Aggressive motivation in the rivulus; collaborating with Adam Fuller on his graduate project to evaluate changes in behavior as a function of developmental rearing regime; field observations and experimentation with bluenose shiners.

John Elder
University of Alabama (2010-2011). Conducting a study to investigate whether male mangrove rivulus masquerade phenotypically as hermaphrodites!

Roper Elrod
University of Alabama (2009-2010). Roper examined steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) gene expression in convict cichlids; c-fos gene expression in Anolis lizards; collaborated with Mark Garcia on his graduate project on Anolis lizards; was an expert lizard tissue processor; and quantified aggressive behavior of the mangrove rivulus.

Kip Eslava
University of Alabama (2012-2013). Collaborated extensively with Amanda Hanninen and Liz Lee to generate beautiful histology photographs of the gonads and digestive tracts of the mangrove rivulus fish. Mastered the art of H&E staining and also participated in a project that used transmission electron microscopy to resolve differences in gut morphology in response to a variety of treatments.

Victoria Fredericks
University of Alabama (2011). Collaborated with Mark Garcia's team on life history evolution in the mangorve rivulus

Megan Galaviz
University of Alabama (2010). Megan was our resident photography and video expert; filming behavioral dynamics of fighting, mating, and parenting in fish and lizards. Megan is now following her dream with an Animal Behavior Internship at Disney's Animal Kingdom!

Marcel Garcia
CSU Fresno (2006-2008).

Riley Garrett
University of Alabama (2009). Assisted Adam Fuller on his graduate project to determine phenotypic differences in the killifish.
Coulson Gray
University of Alabama (2011-2013). Led a project with Maggie Gray investigating lineage-level differences in temperature dependent sex determination in the mangrove rivulus. He also is engaged in a collaborative project with Jacques Balthazart (University of Liege, Belgium) to investigate variation among lineages in brain and gonad aromatase activity. Coulson is off to the University of South Alabama for medical school!

Maggie Gray
University of Alabama (2011-2013). Led a project with Coulson Gray investigating lineage-level differences in temperature dependent sex determination in the mangrove rivulus. Maggie is off to dental school at the University of Alabama Birmingham!

Madeleine Haddock
University of Alabama (2012-2013). Collaborated with Kelly Weinersmith to investigate the relationships between parasites, hormones, and personality. Also worked with our team on transmission electron microscopy of the mangrove rivulus gut. Maddy also participated in the behavioral quantification portion of a project exploring the relationship between fighting and metabolic rate in the mangrove rivulus fish.

Sarah Griffin
University of Alabama (2011-2012). Sarah was a member of the temperature-dependent sex determination crew, and participated in exposing mangrove rivulus embryos to varying temperatures during development. She assisted with dissections and histology preps. In addition, she was awarded a grant to study the molecular basis of temperature-dependent sex determination in Belgium!

Griff Hall
University of Alabama (2010-2011). Worked with Liz Lee to generate a developmental series of embryos for the mangrove rivulus.

Whitney Janzen
CSU Fresno (2006-2008).

Lindsay Highbaugh
University of Alabama (2012-2013). Participated in a project that investigated swimming performance and muscle physiology in the mangrove rivulus. Then, went on to collaborate with a team of undergraduates to explore the effects of ethinyl estradiol on activity patterns. Lindsay also performed the initial assays on vitellogenin gene expression in response to ethinyl estradiol treatment.

Candice Hovell
University of Alabama (2009-2012). As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow, she conducted a project examining the relationship mineralocorticoid gene expression in the brains of convict cichlids and social memory; has collaborated with Stephanie Wong on her graduate project to analyze female cichlid color patterns; is targeted a number of additional genes that are up- or down-regulated as a consequence of social experience. She has joined the PhD program at Georgia Tech for the foreseeable future!

Mary Martin Johnson
University of Alabama (2010). Collaborated with Mark Garcia on the behavioral and neurobiological correlates of social experience in the green anole lizard.

Chris Joiner
University of Alabama (2012). Collaborated with Adam Fuller to determine whether bluenose shiners prefer to associate with longear sunfish with particular secondary sexual characteristics.
Sarah Kennedy
University of Alabama (2009). Was our romantic therapist for convict cichlid pair bonds; collaborated with Stephanie Wong on her graduate project. Now accepted to the Masters Program in Biotechnology at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Ian Kimbrough
University of Alabama (2010-2011). Collaborating with Mark Garcia on the neurobiology of winner and loser effects in anolis lizards.
Adrian Klein
University of Alabama (2011-2013). Participated in our NSF-funded project examining female coloration and male mate choice in the convict cichlid fish. He helped in essentially every aspect of the project Ð from dissection to behavioral quantification. Adrian also collaborated with Mark Garcia to conduct geometric morphometric analysis on mangrove rivulus held under common garden conditions. Adrian is now off to medical school at the University of Arkansas Little Rock!

Riley Kraus
University of Alabama (2011-2012). Riley participated in Liz Lee's experiment investigating variance in egg-laying rates among different mangrove rivulus lineages.

Sherry Le
University of Alabama (2009-2010). Sherry specialized in tissue embedding and sectioning, as well as H&E staining. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow, Sherry worked towards understanding differences in gonadal morphology among clones and sexes of the mangrove rivulus. Sherry is now pursuing a career in education.

Kevin Lee
CSU Fresno (2007-2008). I am currently working on my degree in Biology with an emphasis on Anatomy & Physiology. I am hoping to graduate Spring 2010 and planning on applying for Dental school so currently studying for the DAT.

Michelle Lennox
CSU Fresno (2008). Michelle is currently in vet school at Ross University and is the President of the Feline Club.
Bryan Levay
CSU Fresno (2007-2008).

Jacqueline Ma
CSU Fresno (2006-2008). Jacqueline Ma has graduated cum laude from CSU Fresno with a B.S degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She is a Masters student at Texas State University in the Population and Conservation Biology graduate program under direction of Dr. Caitlin Gabor. Her thesis project will concentrate on the effect of a unisexual, sexual parasite on the sexual selection preferences and spermiation processes of male sailfin mollies (P. latipinna).

Farzad Marzlom
CSU Fresno (2006-2008).

Matthew May
University of Alabama (2009-2011). Holder of the record (*) for most rapid tissue processing in the convict cichlid! Contributed significantly to Boopathy Sivaraman's graduate project by analyzing behavior following pharmacological manipulations of the neuroendocrine stress axis; microdissection and tissue processing; glucose/glycogen determination. Matt has also been integrally involved in a project that investigates new pedagogical strategies for Introductory Biology courses. Matt also visited MD Anderson Cancer center to explore, in collaboration with Dr. Andre Fernandez and Dr. David Mitchell, the hormonal correlates of melanoma formation in swordtails. He is currently collaborating with Mark Nuttall, Robertson Pearce, Richard Morris, and Alexander Thompson on a project examining the costs of aggression.
Swapna Medichetti
CSU Fresno (2007-2008). I am currently working towards my Masters degree in Biochemistry from Texas Tech University and plan to graduate in August 2010. I am carrying out research in a protein lab that works on ATP synthase. My project is to generate mutations in E.coli by site directed mutagenesis. This is done by replacing specific amino acids in the alpha and beta regions of the enzyme, with cysteine to create disulphide bonds, which are much stronger than covalent bonds. The aim is to increase the half life of the enzyme. This is detected by carrying out ATP activity assays and rotational and fluorescence studies.

Michael Merck
University of Alabama (2010-2012). Worked with a variety of our teams on behavioral analysis and other research tasks. Michael is now pursuing a career with Cerner Corporation in the medical IT field.
Richard Morris
University of Alabama (2009-2011). Started by learning techniques in gill histology; collaborated extensively with Boopathy Sivaraman on his graduate project to examine metabolic correlates of fighting where he lead the charge on muscle lactate and liver glucose/glycogen assays; has searched for genes in the cichlid brain. Richard recently completed the behavioral analysis for a project investigating the hormonal correlates of contest behavior in male and hermaphroditic mangrove rivulus, is currently involved in the quantification of CRH receptors in cichlid brains and will collaborate with Matt May, Mark Nuttall, Robertson Pearce, and Alexander Thompson on a project examining the costs of aggression.

Jesse Morrison
University of Alabama (2009). Collaborated with Mark Garcia on his graduate project to process Anolis lizard tissues; microdissection.

Andrea Murrell
University of Alabama (2010).Behavior quantification in mangrove killifish groups. Collaborated with Adam Fuller on his graduate projects.

Joe Murphree
University of Alabama (2009-2011). Anolis behavior expert! He has quantified many, many hours of aggressive behavior and dominance outcomes associated with winner-loser effects in this lizard, and will be embarking on some of the molecular neurobiological aspects of this project in the coming months!

Joshua Nail
University of Alabama (2008-2009). Josh is hard at work studying for the MCAT! While in the Earley lab, Josh participated in a wide range of experiments and learned techniques ranging from hormone extraction and RNA extraction to caudal venipuncture (taking blood from fish). Josh also was dubbed "drillbit" for his love for constructing killifish homes.
Tanya Nichols
University of Alabama (2009-2010). Tanya worked on a project evaluating developmental biology of the rivulus; generating embryonic series to investigate patterns of eye development and changes in gene expression.

Heather Nuanes
CSU Fresno (2006-2007).

Mark Nuttall
University of Alabama (2009-2010). Quantified cichlid aggressive behavior following pharmacological manipulations of the stress axis; glucose/glycogen determination in cichlid tissues; microdissection. Mark also visited MD Anderson Cancer center to explore, in collaboration with Dr. Andre Fernandez and Dr. David Mitchell, the hormonal correlates of melanoma formation in swordtails.

Audra Oppenheimer
University of Alabama (2011-2012). Audra assisted with the care and maintenance of animals in an experiment that explored temperature-dependent sex determination in the mangrove rivulus.
Margarita Ortiz
CSU Fresno (2006-2008). I am currently preparing for entry into optometry school. I've recently graduated from CSUF and I am studying for the Optometry Admissions Test, which I plan to tackle in the upcoming month. I am currently working for an optometrist in Fresno, where I am receiving plenty of valuable experience.
Laura Paiva
CSU Fresno (2008). I'm still working on my BA of Music, now on the 4 1/2 year plan. I'm also still aiming for medical school, and working as a scribe in the Emergency Department at St. Agnes Medical Center. I keep busy volunteering at the Holy Cross Clinic at the Poverello House, and acting as president of the Pre-Med Club.
Robertson Pearce
University of Alabama (2010-2013). Collaborated with several other undergraduate researchers on a project investigating the costs of combat in the mangrove rivulus. Then, conducted a load of behavioral quantification on a published project exploring the relationship between stress reactivity and dominance. In his final year, Robertson branched out to examine the effects of marking techniques on jumping performance in the mangrove rivulus. Robertson is now headed to the University of Alabama Birmingham for medical school!

Jake Powers
University of Alabama (2010-2012). Led a study with Kay Rainey on temperature dependent sex determination in the mangrove rivulus, replicating Harrington's older work and adding a twist to examine genotypic differences in temperature sensitivity during development. Jake also was integrally involved in a project that examined the costs of combat in the mangrove rivulus. Jake is now earning his degree at the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine!
Kay Rainey
University of Alabama (2009-2012). Kay led a project on the environmental stimuli that trigger sexual differentiation in the mangrove rivulus. She focused on replicating Harrington's older work on temperature dependent sex determination with Jake Powers, Coulson Gray, Sarah Griffin, Maggie Gray, Leah Cheney, and Ben Sinderman. In addition, her team developed a second project to investigate genotypic differences in temperature sensitivity during development. She collaborated with both Adam Fuller and Stephanie Wong on their graduate projects. And, Kay participated in a study examining the effects of UV exposure on melanoma formation in swordtails, in collaboration with Dr. David Mitchell and Dr. Andre Fernandez at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She is now a medical student at the University of Alabama Birmingham!

Chelsea "Raulie" Raulerson
University of Alabama (2010-2013). Collaborated on a modeling effort with Tom Bertalan to reveal how fighting experience influences dominance hierarchy formation. Raulie went on to examine differences in swimming performance and muscle physiology among mangrove rivulus lineages. She is now off to graduate school at the University of North Carolina!

Erin Roberts
University of Alabama (2008-2009). Erin helped with various projects in the lab including Water-borne hormone extractions; analysis of carotenoids in convict cichlids; collaborated with Stephanie Wong on her graduate project; tumor necrosis factor gene expression in convict cichlids. She is now attending law school at the Charlotte School of Law

Stephanie Robinson
University of Alabama (2011-2012). Stephanie assisted Adam Fuller in the field and laboratory with a project investigating interactions between longear sunfish and bluenose shiners, their nest associate. Stephanie also has developed a project exploring the phenotypic response of mangrove rivulus to varying salinities during development; she is pursuing this project as a Masters student in my lab!
Nasir Sadeghi
CSU Fresno (2006-2008). I am currently applying to dental school. I graduated cum laude from CSU Fresno with an emphasis on Anatomy & Physiology. I am currently studying for the infamous DAT again and hope to score well enough for admission into a California school. I am hoping to work in a research laboratory (or other type of Biology-related job) in Fresno during the one year of the application wait.

Erica Shackelford
University of Alabama (2012)Erica participated in a number of studies related to the effects of endocrine disrupting compounds on the behavior, reproduction, and physiology of the mangrove rivulus.

Alex Shealy
University of Alabama (summer 2010)Alex joined us from a local high school for summer research experience. Alex worked closely with Adam Fuller to develop models of sunfish to elicit behavioral responses in bluenose shiners. In addition, Alex collaborated with Adam in the field, mastering various techniques for observing and collecting fish in blackwater habitats (e.g. Bear Creek) and local springs (Lightsey's Mill Pond).

Ben Sinderman
University of Alabama (2011-2013). Collaborated with Mark Garcia to quantify a battery of life history traits in a common garden experiment in the laboratory. In addition, he participated in a published project examining the relationship between stress reactivity and dominance in green swordtail fish. In his final year, Ben participated in a study examining temperature-dependent sex determination in the mangrove rivulus. He is now off to the Caribbean for medical school!

Carrie Smith
University of Alabama (2009-2010). Carrie was our fish optometrist! She examined NMYC expression in killifish, particularly changes in retinal NMYC expression during development. Carrie is now attending the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama Birmingham!
Kelly Miller
CSU Fresno (2006-2008).

Haley Stephenson
CSU Fresno (2007-2008).Since I parted from Ryan's lab the Spring of 2008 I have worked in a hospital, gotten my Master's degree in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins, and now I am writing for a NASA publication in DC. I mostly write about the successes, failures, learning processes, and knowledge sharing habits of NASA engineers and scientists alike. On the side, I still like to write about whatever interests me, be it convict cichlids, dinosaurs, or bipolar disorder.

Max Stephenson
CSU Fresno (2008). Max visited us from Grinnell College, where he is now a rising senior as a French/Music double major and pre-med aspirations. Currently, Max is staying in Grinnell for the summer working for alumni relations and studying for the MCAT.

Lana Stuart
University of Alabama (2010). Collaborated on a project investigating metabolic plasticity in the mangrove rivulus with Amanda Hanninen, and generated ideas on the relationship between brain lateralization and behavioral performance in the mangrove rivulus

Alyssa Tessler
University of Alabama (2012-2013). Part of a team of undergraduates who collaborated to explore the effects of ethinyl estradiol on activity patterns in the mangrove rivulus fish.

Sandrilla Thomas
University of Alabama (2009). Collaborated with Boopathy Sivaraman on his graduate project; keeper of the clean killifish houses