Teaching Interests

I am involved in teaching anatomy including The Animal Body and Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy as well as physiology, Function and Dysfunction, to the first-year students in the DVM program. I am also interested in anatomy and evolution at the undergraduate course level, with new courses hopefully coming soon.

Research Interests

I am a functional morphologist, using anatomy and biomechanics to understand evolution, function, and behavior. My work is primarily on amphibians and reptiles, investigating how they move and feed. I have looked at the interactions of bones and muscles, the shape of teeth with regards to striking in snakes, and how salamanders jump. I also have ongoing research projects on how captivity affects anatomy and behavior in snakes and turtles.

I am also interested in educational research, leveraging open-access resources and tools to level the playing field for students entering college and graduate school. I am interested in the impacts of 3D modeling and printing on anatomical education at all levels of higher education.

• PhD, University of Connecticut, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• MS, University of South Florida, Integrative Biology

• BSc with High Honors, University of Maine, Marine Science

See my Google Scholar page (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8jJWMBgAAAAJ&hl=en) for publications.

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

http://ryersonlab.wordpress.com