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I grew up on lookout towers and horseback in the Jemez Mountains, raised by a hardworking single mother who taught me resilience and a deep love of nature. I earned my GED, worked in service jobs, and began college as a computer science major while interning at Los Alamos National Laboratory. A psychology elective sparked my passion for animal cognition, leading me to complete a B.S. in psychology, then a Ph.D. in Biology at the University of New Mexico, studying animal behavior, ecology, and evolution in fish and birds.
I had a postdoc at the University of Nebraska, where I worked on swordtail fish. I then worked for the University of Maryland in Germany and Italy, where, I taught U.S./NATO service members and their families. In 2017, I returned home to New Mexico as biology faculty at NNMC. Since then, I’ve started a fish research lab, led NNMC students in fieldwork in The Bahamas, mentored students into careers in medicine, veterinary science, and graduate school, built collaborations with Los Alamos National Lab, and built NNMC’s IACUC, NIH Assurance # D21-01105.
At NNMC, I serve on faculty senate and the faculty union, and I am passionate about helping students and community members pursue their goals. I feel lucky to do this work and excited for the adventures ahead.
How did you discover NNMC?
I was always aware of Northern. When I saw an NNMC faculty job, I was excited at the chance to return home and serve my community.
What are some of the highlights of your career?
Assisting students as they find their own path has been deeply gratifying. I love that what I do allows me to help others and I get to work with animals and travel the world.
What most excites you about your field?
Biology is undergoing a revolution. As computing speeds increase, we have been able to explore and understand more and more about life. It is a great time to be a biologist!
What is your favorite thing about the Espanola Valley?
Cottonwoods over the acequias on a crisp fall morning with the scent of roasting chile in the air.
Courses Taught
Research Interests
I have broad evolutionary interests and use both ultimate and proximate approaches across taxa and levels of organization to address both my and my mentees’ questions. I am keenly interested in the role of life histories, sexual selection, character evolution and their interactions across and within taxa. I am also interested in the behavioral mechanisms that underlie speciation. In collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) and the National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) in Santa Fe, I am currently working on the interactions between gut microbiota, immune system genetics, bioinformatics, organismal behavior of fishes, and species diversity.
I use different methods to address my questions. I collect ecological data from the field. I use careful experimental design to examine behavioral mechanisms and quantitative approaches to examine important selective pressures in a system. When behavioral tools are not available, I use quantitative methods such as comparative phylogenetic analysis, geometric morphometrics, categorical and regression trees, and other statistical tools.