The MEGA Lab has been having a blast at #GARD2026 in Knoxville which just so happens to be placed next to the “Salamander Capital of the World” 💖
The week has been filled with great research, conversations, and so many #amphibians & #reptiles 🐸🦎🦠🌈🧬
#whyistherestillnosalamanderemoji
Interested in #macroevolution, #macroecology, and mountain biodiversity?
I'm recruiting a #postdoc for an NSF-funded project at Yale, in collaboration with Martha Muñoz (Yale) and Maya Stokes (Florida State University).
I'll be at #Evol2026 and happy to chat!
Link below
I have three amazing students presenting posters at #GARD2026! Come chat with them and get a salamander sticker ✨🙌🏻
Laura Alencar 🇧🇷🐍🦎
Elle Barnes
Beyond honored to be named a 2026 Beckman Young Investigator #BYI!
I can’t wait to get started on this work with my wonderful lab of students and to contribute much-needed genomic resources to the field of #amphibiangenomics! 🐸🧬
✨ So proud of @ritscience.bsky.social MS student, Emma Thompson, for delivering a great flash talk about her research on #thermalecology & #microbiomes at #GARD2026! 🎉
🦠🐸 She impressed a large international audience of #herp disease experts.
#proudmentor @gardconference.bsky.social
Elle Barnes
Elle Barnes
Elle Barnes
The MEGA Lab had a great time showing off our research on amphibian genomics and environmental microbiomes at #ImagineRIT! We spoke to over 400 people about the powerful integration of molecular biology and ecology/evolution research 🦠🔬🧬🐸🌎
@rittigers.bsky.social @ritscience.bsky.social
Happy International Women’s Day! Thankful for all the funny, strong, creative, compassionate, supportive, and intelligent women in my life, especially those I get to share my lab with @rittigers.bsky.social! 💖✨🧬🔬
#WomeninSTEM #InternationalWomensDay
My amazing student Emma Thompson successfully defended her MS in Enviro Sci @rittigers.bsky.social! I am so honored to have been part of Emma’s journey and cant wait to see what she accomplishes at Rutgers’ Ecology PhD program! 🌟🎉🐸🦠🧬
Stay tuned for her 2 pubs combining #microbialecology & #omics!
✨Amphibian migration has begun here in Rochester, NY 🐸
I drafted a guide on my website on how to “herp” responsibly from a conservation scientist’s perspective.
Please share!
megalabrit.weebly.com/responsible-...
#conservation #amphibian #communityscience #herpetology #ecology
We blew the minds of many visitors when we showed them the scale of salamander genomes in comparison to our own! Our lab is working on developing methods that make untangling these complex genomes faster, cheaper, and easier to accelerate innovations in #biotechnology and wildlife #conservation 🧬🖥️✨
Every spring, thousands of amphibians embark on a perilous journey from their wintering grounds to breeding pools. This event is often referred to as the "Big Night." While they face many natural...
megalabrit.weebly.com
Elle Barnes
Elle Barnes
Elle Barnes
Congratulations to our 2026 Beckman Young Investigator Awardees! Twelve Researchers Selected to Receive $7.2M in Total Science Funding for Cutting-edge Research www.beckman-foundation.org/latest-news/... #BYI #beckmanresearch #newlyawarded
