Dr. Lynette R. Strickland (she/they), Principal Investigator
I am an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Boston University.
I was born and raised in Austin, Texas and completed my Bachelor's degree at Texas A&M University-Galveston. My obsession with tortoise beetles (Cassidines) began while I was hiking through the mountains of La Fortuna, Panama during a tropical ecology field course as a first year graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I was immediately enamored by the striking coloration of these insects and my fascination by these "living jewels" has only grown since then. I'm also into consuming too much reality tv, exploring new places, taking an obnoxious number of photos of my cats, red wines, and chocolatey stouts. Google Scholar Twitter
I was born and raised in Austin, Texas and completed my Bachelor's degree at Texas A&M University-Galveston. My obsession with tortoise beetles (Cassidines) began while I was hiking through the mountains of La Fortuna, Panama during a tropical ecology field course as a first year graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I was immediately enamored by the striking coloration of these insects and my fascination by these "living jewels" has only grown since then. I'm also into consuming too much reality tv, exploring new places, taking an obnoxious number of photos of my cats, red wines, and chocolatey stouts. Google Scholar Twitter
Zoe Nelson-Barkan (she/hers), Laboratory Technician Extraordinaire
Zoe graduated from Boston University in May 2023 with her BS in Marine Science. During her time as an undergraduate student, she worked in several labs on projects ranging from microplastics on grass blades, to tracing coral growth. She looks forward to continuing her time in the lab and expanding her knowledge on ecology and evolutionary genomics relating to beetles. She is very excited to be working for her alma mater and with Lynette Strickland (Lynette Strickland promises she did not edit this). In her free time she works on creative projects like writing, painting, and playing guitar.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Dr. Samantha (Sam) Kubica,
(she/hers)
Sam is currently a Postdoctoral Associate Teaching Scholar at BU and got her PhD from the University of California- Riverside. Her dissertation investigated the evolution of mammalian vertebral number, looking at both molecular evolution and environmental influences on vertebrae. She's excited to explore invertebrate genetics in tortoise beetles. When she's not in the lab, Sam enjoys cuddling with her cat, running, and playing nerdy board games.
Dr. Diksha Gambhir (she/hers)
Diksha received her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University, where she worked on hybridization and sex chromosomes in the plant family Salicaceae. She is enthusiastic about using computational tools to understand adaptation, variation, and genome evolution. As a postdoctoral associate in the CEEG Lab, she aims to apply genomic and transcriptomic approaches to investigate adaptation and color variation in tortoise beetles. Outside the lab, Diksha enjoys watching movies, traveling, and exploring new places and cuisines.
Dr. Ayala Berger (she/hers)
Ayala is a Postdoctoral Associate Teaching Scholar at BU and completed her PhD at University of California, Riverside where she studied courtship displays in hummingbirds. She has since moved to studying an even smaller organism and is currently researching courtship behavior in tortoise beetles. She is broadly interested in “beauty” and the evolution of elaborate traits and communication. Specifically, the intersections between how the environment and other
sources of selection shape signal evolution. Outside of the lab, Ayala enjoys swimming, playing chamber music, exploring outdoors, photography, and befriending dogs.
sources of selection shape signal evolution. Outside of the lab, Ayala enjoys swimming, playing chamber music, exploring outdoors, photography, and befriending dogs.
Graduate Students
Sara Parker (she/they)
Sara is a PhD student in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at BU. Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, she received her BS from Chatham University in April 2024. During her first summer conducting field research on pollinators and aquatic macroinvertebrates, Sara blossomed into a self-proclaimed 'insect-nerd'. Her prior research experience spans community ecology, genomics, behavior, and plant-insect interactions. In the CEEG lab, Sara hopes to investigate how genomic, behavioral, and ecological mechanisms contribute to the development and diversity of structural coloration and color-pattern polymorphisms in Cassidines. Beyond the lab, Sara enjoys collaging, hoarding books, listening to pop culture podcasts, and playing fetch with her cat, Zelda.
Alessandra (Ale) Mikich (they/she)
Originally from Brazil, Ale completed their Bachelor’s degree at the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR). During undergrad, Ale primarily investigated flower-mediated insect-plant interactions in the Atlantic Forest, with a strong emphasis on Lepidoptera. Through a few consecutive postbaccalaureate appointments at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, they developed a keen interest in tortoise beetles and had the opportunity to study Cassidinae ecology, physiology, behaviour, and genomics. Now, as a PhD student in the Ecology, Behaviour, and Evolution program at BU, Ale aims to further investigate the ecological and genomic mechanisms underlying maternal care behaviour in cassidines. Apart from entomology, Ale likes to travel, watch TV series and documentaries, make nature illustrations with ink, and go birdwatching.
Research Associates
Stef Linden (she/they)
Stef graduated in 2026 with a BA/MS in Biology and a BA in Mathematics and is currently teaching in the Mathematics/Statistics department as part of a Post-Baccalaureate Academic Fellowship. Her high school AP Bio class sparked an interest in insects, and she has since joined the CEEG lab studying the genetic relationships between different local populations of golden and mottled tortoise beetles. Stef hopes to change hearts and minds regarding the beauty that can be found in the entomological and mathematical. In her free time, she likes to look for bugs, read, and be on or in bodies of water. She will often stop walking to inspect a log or a flower.
Alejandra Camargo-Cely (she/hers)
Alejandra is a PhD candidate in the Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution program at Boston University in the lab of Sean Mullen. She received her bachelor's degree from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia and has a MSc degree from Technische Universität München in Germany. Her research focuses on the genetic and developmental basis of female-limited mimicry in the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). More broadly, she is fascinated by evolutionary novelties and the developmental mechanisms that underlie them. Outside the lab, Alejandra loves animals (especially her dogs) and enjoys reading, music, and exercising.
Undergraduate Researchers
Jieyi Chen, BU Biology, class of 2027
Kayleaa Moore, BU Biology, class of 2028
Jaden Haung, BU Biology, class of 2028
Arianna Quan-Soon Victor, BU Health Sciences, class of 2028
Tonya Boateng, BU Electrical Engineering, class of 2029
Emmalynn Craft, BU Biology, class of 2029
Kayleaa Moore, BU Biology, class of 2028
Jaden Haung, BU Biology, class of 2028
Arianna Quan-Soon Victor, BU Health Sciences, class of 2028
Tonya Boateng, BU Electrical Engineering, class of 2029
Emmalynn Craft, BU Biology, class of 2029
Previous lab members
Master's Students:
Katie Kitrick, Bioinformatics Program, BU class of 2025
Undergraduate Researchers:
Kaizia Johnson, BU Computer Sceince, class of 2026
Jennie Mao, BU Biology, class of 2027
Melissa Pico, BU Biology, class of 2026
Olivia Scappa, Kilachand Honors, BU class of 2026
Maya Abuelbasher, BU Biology, class of 2025
Aziza (Azi) Barkuschwabe, BU Biology, class of 2025
Katie Kitrick, Bioinformatics Program, BU class of 2025
Undergraduate Researchers:
Kaizia Johnson, BU Computer Sceince, class of 2026
Jennie Mao, BU Biology, class of 2027
Melissa Pico, BU Biology, class of 2026
Olivia Scappa, Kilachand Honors, BU class of 2026
Maya Abuelbasher, BU Biology, class of 2025
Aziza (Azi) Barkuschwabe, BU Biology, class of 2025
