Marcus Kronforst is a Professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolution and the lab PI. His research focuses on the genetics and evolution of mimicry and speciation in butterflies. He and the members of his lab apply a combination of molecular and population genetics, phylogenetics, behavioral studies, and field research to address questions regarding evolution and genetics of adaptation and speciation.
Erick Bayala is a Ph.D. student in the Integrative Biology graduate program interested in understanding the developmental mechanisms of color pattern formation and evolution.
Jack Bechtel is a Ph.D. student in Cell and Molecular Biology. Jack is using single cell and spatial transcriptomics to study wing and color pattern development in butterflies.
Meredith Doellman is a Chicago Fellow studying population and functional genomics of color pattern polymorphism in swallowtail butterflies.
Lukas Elsrode is studying patterns of wing scale variation across Lepidoptera.
Micah Freedman is an NSF Post-doctoral Fellow studying migratory behavior and host-plant interactions of monarch butterflies.
Alexandria Im is studying the mating behavior of Heliconius butterflies.
Roberto Márquez is an NSF-funded post-doctoral scholar studying phylogeography and genetics of color patterning in Phyllobates poison dart frogs.
Darli Massardo is the lab manager and a research scientist with areas of expertise that include genomics and genome editing.
Tim O’Connor is an NIH NRSA Post-doctoral fellow studying interactions between pierid butterflies and their Brassicaceae host-plants.
Ayşe Tenger-Trolander is an NSF-funded post-doctoral scholar studying genetic and environmental determinants of migratory behavior in monarch butterflies.
Nick VanKuren is an NIH-funded post-doctoral scholar who is investigating the functional genomics of swallowtail supergene mimicry and the genetic basis of mate preference in Heliconius.
