Principal Investigator
Haruka Wada, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University
Research Interests: Stress physiology, effects of stress during development on behavior and physiology, cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying stress phenotype
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Current graduate student
Wonil Choi, PhD student
Research interests: Physiology, embryology, and immunology
Wonil has a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and he is currently studying the effects of hypoxic and heat stresses on embryonic development on zebra finches.
Tori Coutts, PhD student
Research interests: Nutritional stress, gene expression, epigenetics
Tori is broadly interested in phenotypic plasticity and how animals respond to environmental changes. Using poor nutrition as a stressor, Tori is investigating how zebra finches respond behaviorally and physiologically, and the genetic mechanisms behind these responses.
Cara Brittain, PhD student
Research interests: Conservation ecology and ecotoxicology
Cara is interested in the effects of environmental contaminants on animal behavior and physiology and the implications of these effects in conservation. Cara is studying effects of methylmercury on spatial memory and neural physiology in songbirds.
Alex Hoffman, PhD student
Research interests: Stress physiology, ecophysiology
Alex is interested in stress induced adaptive responses and their underlying mechanisms. Specifically he is studying the direct effects of heat stress on developing zebra finches, as well as the indirect effects on the phenotype of their offspring.
Kayci Messerly, PhD student
Research interests: stress physiology, heat stress, gene expression, epigenetics
Kayci earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee in ecology and evolutionary biology with a minor in statistics. Her research interest is focused on how environmental stressors such as heat affects physiological mechanisms, gene expression, and the heritability of these effects.
Kevin Pham, PhD student
Research interests: Ecophysiology, stress physiology, neuroendocrinology, ecotoxicology
Kevin is broadly interested in environmental stressors and how animals modulate their physiology and behavior to combat these perturbations to maintain individual health and fitness. Currently, he is investigating the effect of continuous light on zebra finch stress physiology, oxidative stress, and behavior.
James Utt, PhD student
Research interests: Stress physiology, animal behavior, and urban ecology
James is interested in how different anthropogenic stressors affect animal behavior and physiology and the implications of these effects on urbanization and human development.
Thalia Williamson, PhD student
Research interests: stress physiology, immunology, embryology & ecotoxicology
Thalia is broadly interested in understanding how organisms cope with stressors and the fitness consequences that occur in response to these coping mechanisms.
Current undergraduate researcher
Wada Lab Alumni
Leslie Dees, Graduated from Auburn High School (2019)
Sejal Srivastava, Graduated from Auburn High School (2020)
Alex Rubin, M.S. (2019)
Shelby Still, M.S. (2019)
Madeline Choi, M.S. (2022)
2022 Graduate students of the Wada Lab
