I created a portable assay to detect the endangered saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) from scat. The saola was only just discovered in 1992, but it is estimated that there are fewer than 100 left in the wild. They only live in the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam. WCS partnered with The Saola Foundation to detect and monitor these elusive animals.

I created a mulitplex qPCR to detect big cats in the illegal wildlife trade from bone and teeth. The test can identify the DNA of six big cat species by their unique qPCR melt curves.

My doctorate research involved studying the ecology of the New York City coyote population. I investigated their relatedness, genetic diversity, and diet. The work has been published in Urban Ecosystems and the Journal of Urban Ecology.

For my Master's thesis I studied red-winged blackbirds' responses to brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds. I found that red-winged blackbirds aggressively defend their nests to try to prevent brown- headed cowbirds from laying their eggs in the nests.