People

Associate Professor of Biology

PhD – Indiana University, 2013

BA – Colby College, 2006

Stephanie Gutierrez

Ph.D. Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 2022

B.A. Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, 2015

Info coming soon!

Ta’Nyia Heard

B.S. in Biochemistry, Kennesaw State University

I am the indefatigable lab manager for the Civitello lab, where I do what I can to keep the graduate students in line and ensure things run smoothly. I handle a bit of everything, such as animal maintenance for the thousands of snails and copepods we kill every year, reminding Dr. David Civitello to wear appropriate PPE to remain EHSO compliant, greenhouse management for our lab’s mesocosm experiments, and helping students do their own job. My research focus is on the ecological dynamics of the Guinea worm parasite, focusing on population dynamics and control methods of the intermediate host of the parasite. Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending time with family, thrifting (yay sustainability!), and baking.

Nadia Raytselis

B.S. in Microbiology and Spanish, University of Massachusetts Amherst

I am a PhD student interested in how complex life cycle parasites move through ecosystems and impact ecosystem structure and function. My dissertation research focuses on the ecology of the Guinea worm parasite, a complex life cycle parasite. For my dissertation, I am investigating a potential alternative transmission pathway and assessing its relative importance to Guinea worm transmission. I employ both theoretical and empirical methods to explore this question. Outside the lab I enjoy doing art, traveling, food-related activities (cooking, baking, and eating!!), and hiking with my partner and our dog, Neva.

Mackenzie Hoogshagen

I am a PhD student in the de Roode and Civitello labs. My research interests span chemical ecology, trophic interactions, and the effects of climate change on species interactions. I study the tri-trophic interaction between toxic milkweed plants, monarch butterflies, and a protozoan parasite of the monarch. The goal of my dissertation research is to better understand how toxicity and nutritional quality of milkweed host plants changes under different environmental conditions (e.g. geographically or in future climates) influences monarch fitness and parasite fitness. Broadly, this work can contribute to a larger understanding of how host plant quality affects tri-trophic interactions in nature.

Ben Lukubye

Andrew Sieben

I am a PhD student interested in investigating the interplay of ecological and sociological factors on parasitic infectious disease dynamics. My dissertation research focuses on the socioecology of schistosomiasis, an infectious disease caused by parasitic blood worms that reside in bodies of freshwater and must infect an intermediate snail host before continuing its life cycle in humans. I combine mathematical modeling, field ecological experiments, and qualitative interview methods to study how manure deposition from moving herds of livestock impact waterbodies in and modulate snail and parasite dynamics and infection risk in the Lake Victoria region of Tanzania. Outside the lab I enjoy backpacking, eating, reading, and eating.