Dumbacher Lab members, Students, and collaborators
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Jack Dumbacher, Curator and Chair of Birds and Mammals at the California Academy of Sciences.
B.S. Vanderbilt University
M.S. and Ph.D. University of Chicago
Post-doctoral Research Smithsonian Institution
My CV (from January 2025)
I am an evolutionary biologist and ecologist studying a variety of topics from molecular evolution of birds and mammals to the chemical ecology of toxic birds to the ecology of resilience in the Sierra Nevada to paleobiology and conservation genetics in the Galápagos Islands. My training is in molecular evolution, and we have a large lab that includes one PhD student, five MS students, and two undergraduate students. You can read more about our projects here. I also teach a public ornithology and birding class (our Master Birding Program) in collaboration with the Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Public education is always a priority at the Academy, and my students and I engage wherever we can!
My website at the California Academy of Sciences
Also, Jaime Chaves and I have a joint lab group at San Francisco State University - check out our joint website here: Galapagos Research Lab
B.S. Vanderbilt University
M.S. and Ph.D. University of Chicago
Post-doctoral Research Smithsonian Institution
My CV (from January 2025)
I am an evolutionary biologist and ecologist studying a variety of topics from molecular evolution of birds and mammals to the chemical ecology of toxic birds to the ecology of resilience in the Sierra Nevada to paleobiology and conservation genetics in the Galápagos Islands. My training is in molecular evolution, and we have a large lab that includes one PhD student, five MS students, and two undergraduate students. You can read more about our projects here. I also teach a public ornithology and birding class (our Master Birding Program) in collaboration with the Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Public education is always a priority at the Academy, and my students and I engage wherever we can!
My website at the California Academy of Sciences
Also, Jaime Chaves and I have a joint lab group at San Francisco State University - check out our joint website here: Galapagos Research Lab
Moe Flannery, CAS Ornithology and Mammalogy Collections Manager
Moe focuses on marine mammal work, but she also works on birds and terrestrial mammals. Her core work focuses on documenting the health and status of marine mammals by monitoring animals that wash up on beaches from Monterrey to the Humboldt County line.
Moe's main website at the Academy is here.
Moe focuses on marine mammal work, but she also works on birds and terrestrial mammals. Her core work focuses on documenting the health and status of marine mammals by monitoring animals that wash up on beaches from Monterrey to the Humboldt County line.
Moe's main website at the Academy is here.
Jaime Chaves, Professor of Ecology and Evolution, San Francisco State University
Jaime does amazing work of all sorts in the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, as well as new projects in North America.
Jaime's personal website is here.
And our joint website for students at SFSU is here.
Jaime does amazing work of all sorts in the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, as well as new projects in North America.
Jaime's personal website is here.
And our joint website for students at SFSU is here.
David Anchundia is a PhD student studying Galápagos vermilion flycatchers (Pyrocephalus nanus and P. dubius). He is currently based at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz, and works for the landbird conservation projects while finishing his PhD at the University of Vienna, Austria.
David recently published a high-quality genome assembly for Pyrocephalus, and he has a paper on the phylogeny and population genetics of these species across the Galápagos. His work is informing island conservation projects that hope to re-introduce extirpated species to islands where they once occurred.
David recently published a high-quality genome assembly for Pyrocephalus, and he has a paper on the phylogeny and population genetics of these species across the Galápagos. His work is informing island conservation projects that hope to re-introduce extirpated species to islands where they once occurred.
Our Masters students at San Francisco State University (also known as the Galápagals, and no, I didn't name them that...) in front of their posters at the Wildlife Society Meeting. Left to right, Thea Leon, Eva Jasinski Driggs, Jessica Martin, Jaden McCaffrey, and Isabella Sessi. They are working on our Galápagos baselines project and our Galápagenomes project and doing fantastic work - especially since they've only been working on their degrees since Fall 2024 semester!
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Thea Leon is a Master student at San Francisco State University. She earned her Bachelor’s at CSU Monterey Bay and joined the lab in the Fall of 2024. She is contributing to the Galápagos Baselines project by working towards getting the first genetic data from the extinct Galápagos giant rat, Megaoryzomys curioi, to resolve its taxonomy and phylogeny. Additionally, she is volunteering in the California Insect Barcoding Initiative at the Center for Comparative Genomics at California Academy of Sciences.
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Eva Driggs is a Master’s student in Biology at San Francisco State University. Her work is on the Galapagos dove (Zenaida galapagoensis) in developing the species' first genome and using population genomics to understand populations across the islands. She completed her undergraduate degree in bioinformatics at Brigham Young University, researching coloration in odonates (dragonflies/damselflies) in Dr. Seth Bybee’s lab. Here’s her email if you ever want to talk bugs or birds: [email protected]
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Ethan Linck is a professor at Montana State University . He earned his PhD from the University of Washington, Seattle and the Burke Museum of Natural History. Ethan did his undergraduate work at Reed College, and did his undergraduate thesis partly under the guidance of CAS collaborators (in my lab and the Center for Comparative Genomics), and he published a very nice paper on the genetic structure of the Louisiade White-eye. Another project was also partly a collaboration with our lab, where Ethan experimented with using hyRAD sequencing data to investigate the lowland phylogeography of the New Guinea Yellow-billed Kingfisher (Syma torotoro). Ethan is continuing to do fieldwork in New Guinea - and I would love to see him in the field! Check out Ethan's personal website here, especially if you are interested in working with Ethan!
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Zach Hanna was a PhD student at UC Berkeley in mine and Rauri Bowie's Lab. Zach has worked in the Dumbacher lab since he finished his undergraduate degree (at UC Berkeley) doing things like avian viral metagenomics, DNA sequencing for a variety of projects, and collecting in South America and Papua New Guinea.
Zach's PhD thesis focused on the genetics of Strix owls. He has sequenced and assembled the entire Northern Spotted Owl genome, and he is using it to work on a phylogeny for the genus Strix, studying the genetics of the invasive Barred Owls in western USA, and studying genetic introgression between Barred Owls and Spotted Owls.
Zach most recently worked on a post-doc with Jeff Wall at UCSF studying recombination rates in vertebrates using whole genome sequences.
Zach's PhD thesis focused on the genetics of Strix owls. He has sequenced and assembled the entire Northern Spotted Owl genome, and he is using it to work on a phylogeny for the genus Strix, studying the genetics of the invasive Barred Owls in western USA, and studying genetic introgression between Barred Owls and Spotted Owls.
Zach most recently worked on a post-doc with Jeff Wall at UCSF studying recombination rates in vertebrates using whole genome sequences.
Galen Rathbun, Research Associate, and Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences
Galen passed away in 2019, but at least for the time being, his work is still hosted on the websites below. Galen was an amazing collaborator, world expert on elephant shrews (aka sengis), and a great friend. We miss him...
Here is Galen's site at the California Academy of Sciences and here is Galen's personal site.
And he also maintained an excellent site on sengis and worked with the Afrotheria Specialist Group.
Galen passed away in 2019, but at least for the time being, his work is still hosted on the websites below. Galen was an amazing collaborator, world expert on elephant shrews (aka sengis), and a great friend. We miss him...
Here is Galen's site at the California Academy of Sciences and here is Galen's personal site.
And he also maintained an excellent site on sengis and worked with the Afrotheria Specialist Group.
Elizabeth Carlen completed her Masters Degree at San Francisco State University studying the evolution and phylogenetics of giant sengis (genus Rhynchocyon) with Galen Rathbun and Jack Dumbacher. Most of her work involved Sanger sequencing mitochondrial and nuclear genes for phylogenetic and biogeographic work.
She is now working on a Living Earth Collaborative postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis working with Dr. Jonathan Losos. Her postdoctoral research focuses on the impacts of urbanization and environmental racism in Eastern Gray Squirrels.
Elizabeth did her PhD work at Fordham University in New York studying the urban biology of pigeons and other human associated animals.
Follow Liz on twitter @E_Carlen.
She is now working on a Living Earth Collaborative postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis working with Dr. Jonathan Losos. Her postdoctoral research focuses on the impacts of urbanization and environmental racism in Eastern Gray Squirrels.
Elizabeth did her PhD work at Fordham University in New York studying the urban biology of pigeons and other human associated animals.
Follow Liz on twitter @E_Carlen.
Tom O'Shea is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, and retired US Government Biologist. You can read more about his specialties and his productive career here.
Tom is a key member of our team conducting small mammal surveys in Desert National Wildlife Refuge. His knowledge of bats of the southwest has been invaluable to the project.
Tom's USGS site is here and links to his 130+ publications, including a large monograph in the California Academy of Sciences Proceedings on bat species of special concern.
Tom is a key member of our team conducting small mammal surveys in Desert National Wildlife Refuge. His knowledge of bats of the southwest has been invaluable to the project.
Tom's USGS site is here and links to his 130+ publications, including a large monograph in the California Academy of Sciences Proceedings on bat species of special concern.
Laura Wilkinson recently retired from her CAS position as a Curatorial Assistant at the California Academy of Sciences. She prepared bird and mammal specimens, sequences DNA, and studies avian malaria in Alaskan birds.
Laura's California Academy of Sciences website is here.
Laura's California Academy of Sciences website is here.
Gopinathan Menon is a Research Associate and Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and is an avian skin expert. We have collaborated to study the morphology of Pitohui toxic skin, and how the birds accumulate toxins in skin and feathers.
You can learn more about Gopi's scientific work on his Research Gate page here.
You can learn more about Gopi's scientific work on his Research Gate page here.