People
the faces behind the science
The Fowler-Finn Lab is a diverse group of scientists passionate about arthropods, vibrational communication, outreach education, supporting diversity in STEM, and having a ton of fun. We welcome inquiries from folks interested in joining our research group and are excited for applicants from diverse backgrounds and training. Visit our outreach page to learn more about our work outside of the lab!
Our P.I.
Photo: Impact Media Lab
Kasey is interested in how organisms respond and adapt to our rapidly changing world through plasticity and genetic change. Some of her interests include: the effects of urbanization on predator-prey interactions and mating behavior, plasticity and genetic change in response to global warming, ecological and evolutionary patterns in vibrational signaling, and plasticity as a driving force in diversification.
Download her CV or visit her Google Scholar page.
Equally important, Kasey is excited about being an encouraging and positive role model for budding scientists and fosters two-way training in her lab group, in which the junior researchers benefit from close collaboration with senior researchers, and the senior researchers benefit from mentorship experience. The high collegiality among her lab members is evidenced by the variety of publications with undergraduate students, graduate students, and PI authorship. Additionally, her lab members collaborate closely on outreach and education, gaining valuable experience in science communication and working at the science-public interface.
Courses taught:
Evolutionary Biology (core course for Biology majors)
Advanced Evolution (graduate-level)
Sex, Evolution and Behavior (upper level course)
Advanced Sex, Evolution and Behavior (graduate-level)
Join the lab
We welcome inquiries from folks interested in joining our research group and are excited for applicants from diverse backgrounds and training. Current opportunities will be posted here, although we are always excited for new collaborations.
Lab members
Ph.D. student
Leah joined the lab in the summer of 2023 after receiving a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana. Leah is interested in conservation biology and is currently studying vibrational acoustics in prairie insects.
Ph.D. student
Mich joined the lab in the summer of 2023 after receiving a B.S. from Lake Forest College. Mich is investigating the effects of temperature on mate communication with a particular interest in the benefits of female choice.
Laboratory technician
Em received her B.S. from Saint Louis University in 2020, where she did her undergraduate research in the lab.
Team treehopper poses with a host plant in the greenhouse. Our lab uses a variety of arachnid and insect study systems, which we maintain in the lab and and greenhouse. Photo: Emily Hutti
Daniel Sasson - Assistant Marine Scientist, Marine Resources Research institute, SC Department of Natural Resources
Michael Moore - Assistant Professor, University of Colorado-Denver
Brett Seymoure - Assistant Professor, University of Texas at El Paso
Rowan McGinley - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Michel Ohmer - Assistant Professor, University of Mississippi
Noah Leith (Ph.D. 2024) - Postdoctoral Fellow in Ecology & Evolution, University of Pittsburgh. NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology (starts 2025), University of California-Berkeley.
Thesis: Eco-physiological interactions between climate and adaptation and the evolution of sexual communication.
Jennifer Mullikin (Ph.D. 2024) - Assistant Scientist, National Great Rivers Research & Education Center.
Thesis: The ecology of pollen specialist bees in urban environments: from the individual to the community.
Anthony Macchiano (Ph.D. 2023) - Postdoctoral Scholar at the USDA
Thesis: Ambient and developmental temperature affects the expression of reproductive traits and mating success in variable thermal environments in Enchenopa binotata treehoppers. (2023 SLU Department of Biology’s Best Thesis Award)
Leticia Classen Rodríguez (Ph.D. 2023) - Environmental Science and Research Program Director, SEEN (SocioEnvironmental and Education Network)
Thesis: Testing the effects of sensory pollutants on arthropod predator-prey dynamics: insights from acoustic and movement ecology. (2023 SLU Department of Biology’s Best Thesis Award)
Dowen Jocson (M.S. 2017) - Ph.D. from Washington State University 2023
Thesis: Temperature affects a wide range of reproductive traits in Enchenopa binotata (Hemiptera: Membracidae) treehoppers. (2018 SLU Department of Biology’s Best Thesis Award)
Morgan Smeester (M.D. U of Nebraska School of Medicine), Timothy Jeffries (PharmD from St Louis School of Pharmacy), Carli Beckett, Humza Ahmed (M.D. U of Missouri), David Dainko (M.S. program, LMU, Germany), Allie Kemph (Ph.D. program, U of Illinois-Chicago), Pallavi Mhaskar (D.O., Midwestern University), Daniel Lee, Fatma Mufti (Ph.D. program, Saint Louis University), Alex Downey, Emily Scott (M.S., U of Colorado-Denver), Sai Pidatala, Wes Gingrich, Simone Ymson, Evian Perez Rivera (M.D., San Juan Bautista School of Medicine), Rohan Tripathi (M.D. program, Saint Louis University), Claire Ballman, Matthew Udani (D.O. Midwestern University), Shivika Ahuja (M.S. Saint Louis U, M.D. program, Saint Louis U), Noah Leith (Ph.D. program, Saint Louis U), Todd Johnson, Jacob Hercules (M.D. program, U of Missouri), Nabeel Sait (Software Development Engineer, Amazon), Yichen Fang, Aleiyah Dapog (M.D. program, Saint Louis U), Nabeel Sait, Jacob Hercules, Beker Karadaghy (M.D., Saint Louis U), Em Miller, Uchechuwku Agali, Abiosiola Ola-Ajose, Nivedita Biju (M.S. Columbia U, D.O. program A.T. Still U), Rachel Brouk (Geospatial Analyst, Axim Geospatial), Mark Tierney (Ph.D. program, U of Louisville), Lauren Wismann, Kati Prince, Matthew Hilz (Forestry Tech, Glacier National Park), Nandhineswari Senthilkumaran, Jake Woods (Ph.D. program, U of Southern Florida), Asad Siddiqui, Arjun Sahai Sahai, Inaya Smith (Laboratory Technician, Saint Louis U), Lia Rubinelli, Arina Martin, Ellie Redle, Lauren Calvin, Lizzie Ward, Cody Schrock, Kate Frauenheim, Joe Billips, Aliyah Adnan, Chris Garcia, Cathy Taylor, Jolie Larson, Gabriel Cristobal (M.S. student, University of Redding, UK), Roman Touchette, Hebron Bekele, Jared Colbert, Nick Shepphard (U Michigan, class of 2028)
