Joseph Mack, PhD Candidate
I am a 5th year PhD candidate in Alexandra Bely's lab (BELY LAB - Home (weebly.com) at the University of Maryland, College Park. My research is broadly focused on the integrative biology of naidids (aka water nymph worms), an ecologically diverse family of freshwater annelids. The approaches and techniques I have used include molecular phylogenetics, metabarcoding, respirometry, and qPCR.
My thesis is focused on the following questions:
1) how diverse is the predatory naidid genus Chaetogaster?
2) how did carnivory evolve from non-carnivorous ancestors in Chaetogaster?
3) what are the physiological pathways that fuel regeneration in naidids?
My thesis is focused on the following questions:
1) how diverse is the predatory naidid genus Chaetogaster?
2) how did carnivory evolve from non-carnivorous ancestors in Chaetogaster?
3) what are the physiological pathways that fuel regeneration in naidids?