Introducing our first-year grad students! Read on to learn about some of the students in our 2017 cohort. Congrats to the first years on making it through your first quarter in the program
Jordan Claytor is joining Greg Wilson’s lab. He is interested in working on mammal diversity acorss K-T boundary. Jordan earned his undergrad at Elon University in NC and before came to UW he worked at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. He decided to enroll as a UW student motivated by the community environment in the biology department. He is excited to try sea food around Seattle and visit new places.
Marina Watowich is interested in tackling conservation and applied ecology questions using traditional ecological methods and noninvasive molecular techniques. Marina graduated from Carleton College 2015, and worked at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia. Marina was drawn to UW because of the interdisciplinary opportunities available in such a diverse department. Finally, Marina is excited about exploring the outdoor opportunities that Seattle has to offer, for example mountain biking, hiking, and sea kayaking.
Aji John is interested in microclimate research and applying computational methods. Aji transitioned from industry to research and finally to grad school. He connected with UW Biology Department by working at Ackerly lab at UC Berkeley. Aji has a wise philosophy to approach grad school “he just want to take it easy!”
Kavya Pradhan is interested in understanding how climate change impacts biodiversity using modeling approaches. While at UW, she will be joining the Hille Ris Lambers Lab and plans to focus on plant communities. Kavya did her undergrad at Randolph (Macon Woman’s) College (Lynchburg, VA), and earned her Master’s degree at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, where she was part of the Fitzpatrick lab. She joined the Biology department motivated by her interest in Janneke’s work, and the broad interdisciplinary and quantitative focus of the Biology department. She is excited about exploring Seattle, the many food options, and the rain!!
Zoe Kulik will be starting in the Sidor lab. She is interested in using bone histology and microanatomy to better understand the physiology and behavior of fossil organisms – particularly what drives growth rate and body size change over evolutionary time. Zoe majored in Geology at Macalester College where she worked to reconstruct the growth pattern of a titanosaurian dinosaur from Madagascar. The grad student community at UW was a big factor in Zoe’s decision to join the Biology Department. She is excited to have the opportunity to go whale watching in the Pacific northwest!
Jazzmine Allen is interested in working with Julia Parrish on research involving marine pollutants and seabird mass mortality. She earned her bachelor degree from Portland State University. She came to UW driven by joining Parrish lab and become part of this research group! Besides UW she is excited to take dance classes in Seattle!
Ashley Paynter is interested in conservation biology, environment, human health and immunology. She moved here from NYC. She decided to join the UW Biology department because of the grad funding and resources available for grad students. She is excited to hike around Seattle and for her new puppy! Tonnis Jackson will be rotating un Imaizumi Lab. He came from UC Berkeley with a major in Genetics and Plant Biology. He decided to come to UW due the interest in the faculty member and the feel of the city and the University. Tonnis is looking forward to think around the Pacific Northwest.
