I study primate dietary ecology and evolution using field, lab and computational genetics methods. One of my main interests is understanding how tropical forest dynamics and phytochemistry constrain diets and shape evolutionary responses. My dissertation pairs ecological fieldwork in Indonesian Borneo with laboratory analyses of rainforest plants to understand how orangutan feeding behavior and nutrient intake varies with seasonal ecological changes. In parallel to my work on wild orangutans, I study the genetics of salivary proteins as a window into primate dietary adaptation.
External Funding:
National Science Foundation -- Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (2022)
Leakey Foundation Research Grant (2021)
American Philosophical Society -- Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research (2021)
Re:Wild and the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation-- Primate Action Fund (2021)
Orangutan Species Survival Plan Grant (2020)
Fulbright Student Research Award (2020)