MK Lab
 
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PEOPLE
 
 Team wasp successfully collecting wasp nests in Rochester, NY for experiments in the the lab. From left to right: Floria, Fede, Belle & Joe. [Photo by J. Adam Fenster, UR]  
 
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
 
Floria Mora-Kepfer Uy, Ph.D. (ella/she/her)
Photo by J. Adam Fenster, University of Rochester

I was born in San José, Costa Rica where I obtained a B.S. and M.Sc. in Biology, focusing on host choice and handling behavior in parasitoid wasps. I then relocated to the US to complete my doctoral studies  at the University of Miami, where I explored grouping behavior, and brain plasticity in eusocial wasps of Florida.

After completing my PhD, I took a position as a Lecturer in the Department of Biology at UM, then a Research Associate position at the Sheehan Lab at Cornell University. In 2020, I started a position at the University of Rochester as a Research Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Instruction. In 2024, I transitioned as an Assistant Professor of Biology at UR.  My team of students continue to work on local and international projects exploring social evolution in insects.

As a woman of color, one of my main objectives is to inspire and train students of diverse backgrounds in the sciences. My goal is to facilitate representation, recruitment, and retention to organically have a more diverse and welcoming environment in STEM.  

 
   
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COLLABORATORS 
 
Rafael Carvalho da Silva, Ph.D. (ele/he/him)

I am a Brazilian Biologist, passionate about insects since I was a child. I obtained my degree as a Biologist in Ituverava, Brazil, where I surveyed soil arthropods by using pitfall traps and developed teaching strategies for high school students to learn about insects. In 2018, I completed my Master’s degree in Entomology at the University of São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. I explored the behavioral and chemical ecology of Mischocyttarus wasp colonies. Currently, I am a doctoral student at the same university, studying the role of brood (mostly eggs) in communication within wasp societies and the effects of juvenile hormone in physiological modulation (e.g. chemical signaling and reproduction). Recently, I was funded by FAPESP (proc. number: 2019/27552-0) to develop an international collaboration with Professor Uy, in which I will focus on the neurophysiology of host-parasite interactions.

   
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RESEARCH ASSOCIATES & POSTDOCS  
 
Juan Martín Ferro, Ph.D. (él/he/him)

 

I am an Argentine researcher born in Buenos Aires but now settled in Misiones province. I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in genetics and a Ph.D. in biological sciences. I am passionate about evolutionary biology, and focused most of my career on chromosome evolution of vertebrates, with emphasis on supernumerary (B) and sex chromosomes. In 2022, I started a position as a researcher at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), to study the evolution of B chromosomes in Neotropical frogs with a genomics approach. Despite spending much of my time at the microscope, lab bench, and computer, I always took advantage of every opportunity to accompany different colleagues to study all kinds of animals in the field in different locations in Argentina, Brazil, & Paraguay. 

 I am very excited for the opportunity to work at TropBioLab. We aim to investigate genome evolution of parasitic insects and their hosts, as well as the possible genomic conflicts arising from the extreme differentiation between sexes.

 

 
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GRADUATE STUDENTS  
 
Alycia Johnson (rotation student; she/her)

 

Being a military child, I was born in Japan and have lived all over the world. I received my B.S. in Biology specializing in Conservation Biology from the University of Southern Mississippi. While there, I worked in Dr. Kaitlin Baudier’s lab focusing on the natural history and thermal physiology of Mischocyttarus phthisicus in Puerto Rico. I also worked on the thermal physiology of Mischocyttarus mexicanus in New Orleans, LA. 

I came to the University of Rochester in the Fall of 2023. I am generally interested in plasticity, behavioral ecology, and thermal physiology of social insects. While at U of R, I plan on focusing on the behavioral, thermal, and morphological plasticity of M. mexicanus. I hope to continue to collaborate with the Baudier lab to bridge the gap between lab-based genetics and genomics with field-based ecology.

 

 
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Milla Turner (M.S. Student; she/her)

 

I am a native of the Finger Lakes region and call Geneva, NY, home. I am lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful flora and fauna, and I realize more each day how much it has influenced my personal, academic, and professional trajectory. I graduated from the U of R in 2022 with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and am now pursuing an M.S. in Biology. My work in the TropBio lab focused on the behavioral manipulation of the parasite Xenos peckii on its host, the American paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus. 

In my MS project, I will explore how relatedness and recognition signals influence aggressive interactions among weaver ant colonies. I am so grateful to be back in the TropBio lab and back at the U of R to continue learning and developing as a scientist, with so many wonderful people alongside me! 

 

 
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UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS
Avi Khana (he/they)

I'm from Fremont, California, which is an hour out of San Francisco. Growing up near the coast gave me a lot of opportunities to travel both to our local redwood forests and our gorgeous tide pools, which helped me spark a healthy love for the outdoors as a kid. After years of flipping over rocks to look for bugs, I decided that pre-med wasn't for me and am majoring in Cell and Developmental Biology, with a minor in psychology and a healthy dosage of supplemental ethology classes. I plan to pursue a PhD after graduating, hopefully back near the West Coast's forests.

 

 

 

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Joe Krell (he/his)

I am from Marblehead, Massachusetts. I am an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major, this branch of biology being a lifelong passion of mine. My experiences at a Massachusetts Audubon summer camp as a child spurred my interest in entomology, and years in Boy Scouts fostered my love for the outdoors and conservation. 

For the Fall 2022 semester, I studied abroad in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands as a participant in Trop Bio Lab’s NSF-funded International Research Experience for Undergraduates (IRES) program. I am now studying plasticity in the behavior of the eusocial paper wasp Mischocyttarus mexicanus as an adaptation to survive climatic changes. The de Kiewiett Summer Research Fellowship is supporting my project.

 

 

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Valeria Padilla-Choy (she/her)

 

I was born in the border city of San Diego in Southern California, and lived there my whole life up until coming to school in Rochester. Growing up I always had an interest in the natural sciences, namely biology, but it wasn’t until my senior year of high school when I took a genetics class that I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in it. I’m planning on majoring in biochemistry, and would like to eventually earn a PhD and have a career in research. I’m very excited to be working in the Trop Bio Lab with such a wonderful group of people, and I can’t wait to assist with the various projects happening in the lab as we learn more about the relationship between paper wasps and their parasites.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to do research in the Trop Bio Lab in pursuit of the answers to new questions - specifically those pertaining to paper wasps.


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Natasha Vacca (she/her)
   

I grew up in Middlesex, NJ. I’m a sophomore at the U of R majoring in neuroscience with a minor in Spanish and clinical psychology. Since I was a kid, I was always looking for new specimens to put under my little toy microscope to explore what was unknown to me. This quest for knowledge has led me to studying the sciences and aspiring to obtain my PhD and have a career in research. 

During my time at the TropBio lab I have explored immune system responses to parasites in native vs. invasive hosts. Currently, I am starting my own project to observe when parasitic manipulation begins through neurogenomics. My project is supported by the Discover Award. I’m very grateful to be a part of this wonderful team!

 

 

   
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LAB ALUMNI