Current and Recent Undergraduate Research

Chanel Ross studied the muscle fiber types of the hindlimb muscles of kangaroo rats. She wrote a Zoology Senior thesis and presented her research at the 2019 WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium. She graduated in Spring 2020.

Alexis Mathews began working in the lab during summer 2017 on the muscle fiber types in the tail muscles of Hairy Woodpeckers. She is seen here presenting her poster at the 2018 WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium and graduated in Spring 2020.

Karma Thomas began working in the lab during summer 2017 on the muscle fiber types in the sound-producing muscles of Manakins. She is seen here presenting her data at the 2018 WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Amanda Walker worked in the lab from 2014-present studying the anatomy, muscle fiber types, and biomechanics of hindlimb flight posture in blackbirds. She received a Weber State Undergraduate Research Grant to support her work and presented it at the 2016 WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium. She will be attending the University of Utah Medical School beginning Fall 2018.

Kyle Spainhower presenting his thesis project as a poster at the 2016 SICB meeting in Portland, Oregon. Kyle worked in the lab for three years and is now in grad school at Youngstown State University in Ohio.

Kyle Spainhower & Carly Milligan presenting their poster at the 2014 SICB meeting in Austin, Texas

Linsey Christensen presenting her poster at the 2014 SICB meeting in Austin, Texas

Linsey Christensen worked in the lab from 2009-2015, and used muscle histochemistry and antibodies to quantify the fiber types within the syringeal muscles of various species of male and female songbirds. Linsey received Weber State Undergraduate Research Grant to support her research and presented posters of her work at the 2011 SICB meeting in Salt Lake City and the 2014 meeting in Austin, Texas. She is now attending Medical School at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.

Lisa Allred and Linsey Christensen presenting their poster at the 2011 SICB meeting in Salt Lake City.

Lisa Allred used muscle histochemistry and antibodies to quantify the different fiber types within the song-producing muscles of various species of male and female songbirds. Lisa received a Weber State Undergraduate Research Grant to support her research for Summer 2009. She graduated in May and was co-author on a paper presented in July 2010 at the International Congress of Vertebrate Morphologists in Punta del Este, Uruguay; she also presented a poster of her work at the 2011 SICB meeting in Salt Lake City. She is a Pathologists' Assistant

Sarah Ahmad studied the effects of denervation and testosterone on the syringeal muscles of male and female Zebra Finches. Sarah received a Weber State Undergraduate Research Grant to support her research for Summer 2009. She attended Medical School at the University of Utah.

Ami Uchida worked in the lab for 3 years studying the structure of the syringeal muscle of various songbirds, including starlings, Zebra Finches, and Cowbirds.  Ami received Weber State Undergraduate Research Grants to support her research and has presented it at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Phoenix in January 2007 and in Boston in 2009. She has also co-authored posters presented at the International Congress of Vertebrate Morphologists in 2007 and the American Ornithologists Union in 2008. Ami published her research in the Journal of Experimental Biology (2010). She attended Medical School at the University of Utah.

Jared Green studied the structure of the syringeal muscle of various songbirds, including Zebra Finches and Cowbirds. He presented his research with Ami at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Boston in January 2009.

Joshua McFarland studied the anatomy and biomechanics of hindlimb flight posture in birds.  Josh discovered that the hindlimb muscles of avocets and stilts possess populations of slow muscle fibers especially suited for holding their legs in the extended position.  Josh was part of our Summer 2005 NSF-REU program, received a Weber State Undergraduate Research Grant for his research, and presented his work at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Orlando in January 2006.  Although he graduated in Spring 2006, he continued to work in the laboratory and published his work in the August 2008 issue of the Journal of Morphology. He is a graduate of the Physician Assistant program at OHSU.

Lani Shepard studied the evolution of hindlimb flight posture in birds.  Birds fly with their legs either tucked up against their bodies or with them trailing behind.  Lani received a Weber State Undergraduate Research Grant to photograph various avian species to learn which species use which limb posture and why. She presented her work at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Phoenix in January 2007, and has published her research in the June 2008 issue of Utah Birds.

Matthew Leaptrot studied the diversity of myosin heavy chains in bird muscle.  He received a Weber State Undergraduate Research Grant for this project and presented it at the Annual WSU Undergraduate Research Symposium in March 2008.

Past Projects

René Myers worked in the lab in 2003-04 and studied pelican pouch morphology and jaw bending mechanics. He completed a Zoology senior thesis on this project, presented it at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in New Orleans in January 2004, and has a paper published in Condor. René graduated from University of Rochester Medical School in 2009.

Eric Stakebake worked in the lab in 2000-01 and studied albatross flight musculature and soaring biomechanics. He completed a Zoology senior thesis on this project, presented it at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Chicago in January 2001, and has a paper published in Journal of Morphology .

Brett Clarke worked in the lab in 1996-97 and studied chameleon neck flap morphology and bending mechanics. He presented the research at the annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Seattle, WA in 1997, and published a paper in Copeia.

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Updated: June 2020