About me

Hello! I am an ecologist, computational biologist, and data scientist. I enjoy using my knowledge of biology and my analytical toolkit to solve problems and provide meaningful insights to diverse audiences. I am currently preparing to defend my PhD thesis at the University of Toronto in department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with supervisor Helene Wagner.

My thesis research is focused on the role of spatial scale in species modelling, mainly in species distribution modelling (SDM), to be specific. SDM is a (typically) regression-based technique used across many subfields of ecology, and these models help us understand why organisms are found in one place and not in another, in other words to identify species-environment relationships. They are commonly used in conservation, habitat suitability mapping, and even in predicting changes due to climate change! Nearly all of these models contain at least one spatial component, which are sensitive to spatial scale. If there is a mismatch between the scale of observation in the model and the scale of the ecological pattern the model is attempting to capture . . . there is an increased risk of model error. My work illuminates potential sources of model error due to “hidden” spatial dependencies and calculates the “right” scale of observation for an array of species-landcover relationships.

Before graduate school, I earned a BSc at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a double major in Biology and Wildlife Ecology. I also served the Wisconsin State Department of Natural Resources as a Wildlife Ecologist’s Technician where I fell in love with field work, met amazing colleagues, and began learning to navigate the cultural and political dynamics between academic research, government, private landowners, and indigenous nations.

Bombus impatiens at Tommy Thompson Park, Toronto