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Jelle needs to submit a biography. Joel is a Ph.D. student in the Boston University Marine Program. Joel received his B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany where he worked with Dr. Helmut V.B. Hirsch to study how early heavy metal exposure affects locomotory activity in D. melanogaster. Joel was initially drawn to BU and the Atema Lab due to his interdisciplinary interest in neuroethology. In a nutshell, behavior is an output of an organism's biology in response to the environment; what specific systems, subsystems, and environmental inputs contribute to the production or inhibition of action? Joel's focus is on the lobster H. americanus which relies heavily on chemo and mechanosensory inputs. He is happy to note that since joining Atema Lab all specimens have proven delicious. Julia is the Atema Lab manager and research technician. Julia received her B.S. from the University of California, Davis, and joined the lab to take on a project examining lobster behavior. She is investigating female mating preferences with regards to population and dominance, and the implications for limiting the spread of shell disease. Her work will be integrated with other research on lobster adaptation, morphometry, and genetics to produce a comprehensive study of the American lobster focused on conservation. Daniel needs to submit a biography. Erin is a junior undergraduate majoring in biology with a specialization in marine science. She has successfully completed the BUMP Marine Semester, coming away with only a mild sunburn and a few bug bites, and is an officer in the Marine Science Association. Erin is currently laying the groundwork for a project that will become her Senior Independent Work for Distinction. Her research, which examines female lobster mating preferences for healthy versus shell-diseased males, is a subset of Julia’s project. Erin is also the resident Atema Lab lobster whisperer. Osama is a biology major and a pre-med student in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is interested in the neurobiological side of lobsters, although he admits he has never tasted one. He is currently working on a small project involving the antennules of lobsters and their mechanosensory function. Osama enjoys archery and owns a Hoyt Ultratec compound bow which he uses for bowhunting purposes. Diana is a senior undergraduate biology/marine science major with interests in ecology and conservation. She assists the Atema Lab with lobster husbandry and, despite feeling enough affection to talk to the lobsters while feeding them, does find herself looking forward to opportunities to recycle them in lobster pasta. |
