Isabel Cacacho

Ph.D. Student
Email: ana.lopez@ufl.edu

I am a passionate biologist interested in entomology, molecular biology, physiology, genetics, and bioinformatics. My research has centered around different arthropod taxa, focusing on questions associated with the development of adaptations. Currently, I am working with moths and their ability to sequester toxins from plants.

David Cheng

Ph.D. Student
Email: chungte.cheng@ufl.edu
ResearchGate

I am a PhD student in the Kawahara Lab, and my research interests largely rely on phylogenetically related topics. Currently, my work specifically focuses on reconstructing the phylogeny of bagworms (Lepidoptera: Psychidae), while addressing how and when sexual dimorphism and wing loss appeared throughout the evolutionary history of the family. I am also interested in developing interdisciplinary skill sets such as AI and CT scanning to extrapolate the evolutionary and biological questions of Psychidae. I also teach the Principles of  Entomology Lab (ENY3005L/5006L) in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida.

Ph.D. Student
Email: cinel1@ufl.edu
Website
Instagram

My research focuses on the influence that predators have on the physiology and life-history traits (i.e. developmental, reproductive, etc.) of their prey, through what are called ‘non-consumptive effects’ or what I like to refer to as predator-induced stress responses. For my masters and doctoral work, I have specifically studied how moths equipped with ultrasound-sensitive ears respond physiologically to hearing playback of recorded bat foraging and attack calls and have used gene expression experiments to identify the genetic machinery underlying this predator-induced stress response in the brains and reproductive tissues of adult corn earworm moths.

Rachel Walsh

Ph.D. Student
Twitter: @swamp_lily
Email: rachel.walsh@floridamuseum.ufl.edu

I am a Ph.D. student studying ecology and genetics of the Loammi skipper (Atrytonopsis loammi), an imperiled Florida butterfly. The Loammi skipper once ranged across much of the southeastern U.S. but has faced significant declines in the past century, resulting in only a small number of remaining disjunct populations in Florida. My research focuses on conservation genetics and ecology of these disjunct populations with the goal to inform management and aid recovery.