Where does EEOB lead? | Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

Jonathan Horn is currently the H2Ohio Rivers Program Manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). He believes his time in EEOB helped him with network building, skills development, and a variety of experience solving real academic and scientific problems. Jonathan advises current and future EEOB grad students to, "Put yourself and your work in front of as many folks in your intended career path as possible. Networking and relationship development is as important as your academic work. Take time to do internships, volunteer, and do other social and network building tasks that may not advance your dissertation or thesis."

Lara Metrione is Operations Manager for the South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation. She coordinates scientific and business operations through research project management, communicating with zoo and aquarium members about specific reproduction and wellbeing cases, and organizational management, as well as participating in research collaborations. Lara states, "My graduate research was directly related to the same type of studies in which I and the company I work for are engaged, thus my time in EEOB provided the knowledge and training that are foundational to my career." She advises current and future EEOB graduate students to pick a research area that they are passionate about so that, when the inevitable challenges and obstacles occur, they are motivated to keep exploring.

Jonathan Hall holding California Condor for Allie Ward's Ologies podcast ad

Jonathan Hall is currently an Associate Professor of Biology at Eastern Michigan University. Jonathan states, "OSU EEOB helped prepare me for a career in academia through a rigorous formal education and valuable informal education. I learned a lot from the professors and also my peer graduate students. I developed a passion for teaching and learned that I was capable of high-quality scholarship...My general advice is to say yes to opportunities and focus on building and maintaining your network. I have my current job because of the contact I maintained with graduate school peers in the EEOB program. My advice for underrepresented students in this field is more specific, detailed, and nuanced. I'm open to having that conversation with such students if requested." You can read more about his research on his website.

Being safe at the lab on Santa Rosa Island. Photo by Lauren Harris

Sarah Cusser is a Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden where she leads insect-plant interaction studies to advance biodiversity conservation, habitat restoration, and urban habitat creation. Sarah states EEOB prepared her to start her PhD and execute field work. She advises current and future EEOB graduate students to adopt the following: "If something's going wrong, deal with it as soon as possible (don't put it off)."

Find out more about Sarah's work on the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden website.

Alex Champagne is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Southern Indiana, a regional public university that serves primarily undergraduate students. Alex teaches and conducts research with undergraduates. His general field of study is evolutionary and ecological physiology, with a focus on how the properties of lipid membranes regulate physiological processes such as evaporative water loss and metabolism. Alex states, "My time as a PhD student in EEOB taught me how to be an effective teacher, researcher, and mentor, and it also taught me a lot about myself and the kind of person I wanted to be going forward. The lessons I learned as a graduate student clarified my career goals and gave me a growth mindset. Along the way, I developed lifelong friendships and collaborations!" He encourages current and future EEOB graduate students to, "Set your own goals, and don't worry about what everyone else is doing or accomplishing. It's easy to feel like you're not doing enough. There are going to be highs and lows as you go through graduate school, and everyone experiences those at different times!" Find out more about Alex's teaching and research on the University of Southern Indiana's website.

Christopher Randle is a Professor in Biology at Sam Houston State University, an R2 university in Huntsville, TX. His day to day includes a balance of teaching and research, mostly with undergraduate students and masters students. In the last 20 years Chris has worked on a lot of different kinds of projects, mostly on the ecology and systematics of parasitic plants, but also on population genetics of turtles and fishes, forensic analysis of molecular data, phylogenetic theory, and most currently invasion biology using ecological niche models. His Ph.D. training in EEOB taught him that, "I can do hard things and that failures are valuable for growth. I was also exposed to many examples of how to be a scientist and an educator, which have helped me craft my own approach to my profession." He advises current and future EEOB graduate students to "work hard and have fun." Read more about Chris' research and teaching on the Sam Houston State University website.

Vignettes showing evolutionary processes within multiple tumor metastatic sites in breast cancer.

Gregory Wheeler is an Assistant Professor in Bioinformatics at the University of Galway where he teaches courses, supervises students, conducts research, writes grants and papers, serves on advisory committees, etc. After studying in EEOB, Greg took the knowledge of genomics, bioinformatics, and evolutionary principles and found employment studying cancer in the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH). He used the experience from both to get the position he currently holds. Greg encourages current and future EEOB graduate students to consider roles outside of academia as well as roles outside the US. He elaborates, "I thought I never wanted to be a professor, and I had a great time in my staff scientist role at NCH, but in the end it was that experience that let me return to academia with a lot of valuable skills and specialized knowledge." Learn more about Greg's research and teaching on the University of Galway's website.

Kali with first mate Katie on the research boat Lake Explorer II

Kali Mattingly is a private contractor for SpecPro Sustainment & Environmental, whose work supports the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). She remotely serves as statistician in Duluth, MN Great Lakes research office of USEPA. Kali credits her time in EEOB with her flexibility and problem solving, research and statistics/coding skills, ability to learn new things, and communicating science to fellow scientists of a variety of fields. You can view Kali's profile on LinkedIn.

Giving a talk at BiotechX in Philadelphia (September 2025) about how Seven Bridges built an automated breast cancer diagnostic testing pipeline for a customer.

Aaron Wenzel is currently a Scientific Engagement Manager on the commercial team at Seven Bridges Genomics, a cloud-based platform for multiomics bioinformatics analysis. Aaron works with the sales team to qualify deals, preform pre-sales demos, and works with current customers as they have questions/issues on our software platform. His customers are a variety of large pharma, mid-sized therapeutic, and government/academic researchers. Aaron says "My Ph.D. focused on plant evolutionary biology, which I don't use much of today, but a Ph.D. (and specifically the graduate program in EEOB) taught me flexible transferable skills beyond the science I was focused on (communication, writing, scientific engagement, etc)." Aaron advises current and future EEOB graduate students to, "Network, network, network. Regardless of your career goal, it's never too early to lean in and introduce yourself. Lean on the people you know - for example if you see that a colleague is connected on LinkedIn (or another social media platform) to someone you want to meet, reach out. The more you talk to people, the more doors could open down the road, and the better you will be at honing a concise and effective value proposition when you're looking for a job." You can view Aaron's profile on LinkedIn.

A bright green frog with spots sits on the outstretched hand of a researcher — Conducting surveys for threatened Chiricahua Leopard Frogs in Arizona

Rob Denton is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Ball State University, a midsized research university, where roughly half of his time is devoted to teaching and half to research. His lab works on problems in the evolution and conservation of amphibians. Rob states, "My time in EEOB helped me gain the confidence to know I could succeed in this career. Support from the university and department allowed me to make new connections beyond campus. My cohort was a strong group of early career scientists who set a high standard." You can read more about Rob's research on his website.

Jeramy Pinkerton is the Lake Superior and St. Louis River Team Supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). He leads a team that completes large scale habitat restoration projects that typically support the delisting of the St. Louis River Area of Concern and/or the Lake Superior Lake Action Management Plan. Jeramy's time in EEOB helped him develop the skills (technical and social) he learned as a TA and researcher and helped to get his foot in the door with the Minnesota DNR. He suggests current and future EEOB graduate students, "Stick with and do things that challenge you/move you outside of your comfort zone."

Dr. Iler and her team melted the snow early in specific plots in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. — Dr. Iler and her team are melting the snow early in the Colorado Rocky Mountains to understand how experimentally advanced phenological events in plants, such as leaf-out and flowering, affect plant population growth rates. One of the most prominent biological consequences of climate change are shifts in phenology – the seasonal timing of life-cycle events – but we know incredibly little about how and why plant populations are affected by these changes. This research will improve our understanding of how climate change affects plant biodiversity.

Amy Iler is a Conservation Scientist at Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University Associate Professor. She is in an academic position based at the botanic garden and does a bit more outreach and service than a position at an R1 university, for example; but it is similar. She explains, "Because we run our own graduate program through a partnership with Northwestern University, I mentor graduate students and teach classes." Amy states, "The high quality education and mentoring I received in EEOB, especially from Karen (Dr. Goodell), gave me the experience and confidence to succeed as a professional scientist. The amazing community of graduate students in EEOB were a constant source of support and inspiration, and I learned a lot from my peers as well!" She advises current and future EEOB graduate students to not "feel like you have to work during evenings and weekends to succeed. Work-life balance is so important!" You can read more about Amy's research on her website.