I am a geobiologist investigating changes in dietary and locomotor ecology in response to mass extinctions, focusing on the extinct relatives of living crocodylians. I also use the skulls and teeth of living organisms, in particular lizards, to reconstruct the life habits of extinct organisms. My research integrates aspects of evolutionary biology, geology, and anatomical science.

 

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan working closely with Dr. Jeff Wilson, Dr. Michael D'Emic, and Dr. William Sanders studying juvenile sauropod dinosaurs. Following this, I worked for a year as a preparation lab manager with Dr. Nancy Stevens at Ohio University. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, I completed a Masters and Ph.D. at the University of Utah and the Natural History Museum of Utah with Dr. Randall Irmis. I am currently working with Dr. Nathan Smith at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County investigating how dinosaur dental complexity changed through the Mesozoic.

 

In concert with my Master's and dissertation research, I have taken an active role teaching in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, working as a Historical Geology instructor and a teaching assistant for three courses. Additionally, I was a visiting science teacher for a 6th-grade class at the Salt Lake Center for Science Education during an NSF 'WEST' fellowship. Finally, I am a founding member of Inclusive Earth, an organization that strives to increase representation of minority groups in earth sciences in the College of Mines and Earth Sciences.