GLOBES Fellows
The GLOBES program is pleased to announce the second cohort of GLOBES fellows who begin their program of studies in Fall of 2007.
- Ashley Baldridge
- James Clancy
- Derrick Parker
- Sarah Roley
- Brandy St. Laurent
- Patrick Shirey
- Sheina Sim
Cohort II (Fall 2007)
Ashley Baldridge
Biological Sciences
Following graduation from Michigan Technological University with a BS in Biology, Ashley spent two years in northeast China teaching English at the Changchun Institute of Technology. While there, she observed the rapid industrial growth associated with China's acceptance into the WTO. Considering the similarity in climates and increasing levels of commerce between the U. S. and China, she feels it is important for our countries to work together to monitor, prevent, and manage invasive species.
Growing up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Ashley developed an early awareness of invasive species. She chose to focus on invasion biology for her master’s research. She attended Smith College in Northampton, MA, where she studied predator-prey interactions between the invasive green crab and native snails within the Gulf of Maine. After graduating from Smith College in 2006, Ashley was hired as the Coordinator for the Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program. The best part of her job was getting students involved in field research projects, and she decided it was time to return to the field herself.
Ashley was immediately drawn to the GLOBES real-world project area described as “the ecology, economics, and management of invasive species in the United States and China” because the topic integrates her graduate training and research interests in invasion biology, as well as her life experiences along the Great Lakes and in China.
When Ashley is not busy in the field and the lab, she enjoys making pottery, traveling, working on her new house, and writing about herself in the third person.
James Clancy
Biological Sciences
James finished a BS in Bioengineering in 2005, and is in the process of finishing an MS in the same field, both from the University of California, San Diego. His research interests include cellular kinetics, the study of migration, development, and invasion. James has spent the last two and a half years working at The Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, furthering development of the lab's live-cell cytometer, and using a combination of image restoration techniques to extend cell tracking work into 3 dimensions. Though his background is in engineering, he is looking to apply the techniques and tools he has acquired to biology. He is very interested in the practical applications of science and research, particularly the social impacts stemming from scientific advances.
When not in the lab, James enjoys most outdoor activities. He loves to swim and recently got back into surfing. When not in the lab or at the beach, he can usually be found catching the Padres and Chargers games.
Derrick Parker
Biological Sciences
Derrick received a BS in Animal Sciences in 2006 from Louisiana State University. As an undergraduate he worked in the Veterinary Entomology Lab and engaged in the study of disease transmission and host-parasite-vector complexes. He assisted in several molecular and field projects investigating mechanisms of insecticide resistance in horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans, populations. He invested the summer of 2005 participating in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in Animal Behavior at Indiana University and under the advisement of Dr. Butch Brodie and Dr. Heather Bleakley examined the impact and evolutionary dynamics of social environment on the behavior of guppies, Poecilia reticulata.
His interests span a wide array of topics and include the study of population dynamics and disease epidemiology and the role of dispersal and anthropogenic development in structuring each of these facets of biology. At the very core of his interests is an enduring affinity in social behavior and understanding the relationships of animal-environment-human interactions. Under the complexities of a globally changing climate, populations are faced with unprecedented pressures in their environment and he hopes to concentrate his dissertation toward understanding how organisms respond in their biology and behavior to an altering climate and non-historical habitats and explore the evolutionary impacts of such reactions. In doing so, he wishes to begin bridging the gap between efforts in conservation and social and political policy and evolutionary biology.
He believes the Globes program will allow him to examine a large portion of these interest areas from a unique and challenging perspective. Other than science, his strongest passions lie in painting and drawing and photography (proven stress relievers!) > Read more on Derrick's research
Sarah Roley
Biological Sciences
Sarah holds Bachelor's degrees in Biology and English from Bemidji State University and a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota. Her research experiences have included studies of Eurasian watermilfoil invasions in Minnesota, curlyleaf pondweed viability and longevity, the milfoil weevil’s performance on various milfoil taxa, aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in river-lake systems, and prairie plant invasions.
Most recently, Sarah worked at Capitol Region Watershed District in St. Paul. In this urban watershed, she monitored water quality, including the effectiveness of best management practices and the biological health of wetlands. She also worked with District residents to install water quality improvement practices on their property.
Sarah is excited to return to research, especially as a part of GLOBES. Her work with invasive species and urban water quality have taught her the importance of integrating science and public policy. At Notre Dame, she will continue to work in human-altered landscapes by studying agricultural streams. When not wading through streams and wetlands, Sarah enjoys running long-distance races, reading novels, growing vegetables, and any outdoor activity. >Read more about Sarah's research
Brandy St. Laurent
Biological Sciences
Brandy received her BS in Biology and a minor in Philosophy in 2006 at the University of Oregon. As an undergraduate, she had the opportunity to work on research projects examining the developmental genetics of zebrafish (D. rerio) and, in another lab, the circadian rhythmicity and photoperiodic response mechanisms of the pitcher-plant mosquito (W. smithii).
Inspired by an entomology course that she took while studying abroad in Sweden, she decided to pursue work in insect biology and human health. Brandy is particularly interested in studying the mosquitoes that transmit infectious disease. She believes that the impact of tropical disease in the developing world is a major barrier to social and economic progress and that arthropod-borne disease will become more of a problem as the tropical zone expands.
Brandy is honored to be a GLOBES fellow and looks forward to the challenges and collaborations ahead. “I think that we have a duty as scholars to serve the global community,” said Brandy. “Approaching world problems from many perspectives is a good place to start.”
In her free time, Brandy enjoys traveling, practicing Tae Kwon Do, and rock climbing.
Patrick D. Shirey
Biological Sciences
Patrick recently completed a J.D. at The Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law (2007) with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law. He previously earned a M.S. in Wildlife Science at the New Mexico State University (2004) where he studied the ecology of the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. He also earned a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Penn State (2001).
Patrick's research interests include aquatic ecosystems, endangered species, and the interrelationship between science and policy for the management of natural resources. He would like to focus a portion of his dissertation work on examining preserved museum specimens to evaluate changes in aquatic ecosystems. This can be accomplished by examining gut contents and measuring stable isotope concentrations of preserved fish, and comparing the results with current food webs to evaluate changes in ecosystems.
A Pittsburgh native, Patrick is a fan of all the Steel City’s professional sports teams: the Steelers, the Penguins, and yes, even the Pirates. > Read more about Patrick's research
Sheina Sim
Biological Sciences
Sheina graduated with a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Irvine. As an undergraduate, she worked on several projects ranging in topics from rapid evolution of flowering time in Brassica rapa to the detection of transposable elements in Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidposis lyrata. Since then she has worked as a post-baccalaureate research fellow with the FIBR (Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research) group based in the Max-Planck Institute for Züchtungsforschung in Köln, Germany. As part of the 2007 cohort of GLOBES fellows, she hopes to combine her interests in the investigation of the genetic basis of quantitative traits leading to local adaptation, evolution, and domestication, with her interest in saving the world and humanity through the improvement of agricultural practices and sensible usage of technology.
Apart from research, Sheina enjoys a wide variety of activities from extremely sedentary (video games) to moderately active (tennis) to even more moderately active (board games and wall climbing) pastimes.