Dr. David J. Lohman - Assistant Professor at City College of New York, City University of New York [website]
Dave was my Ph.D. advisor while I was at CUNY and we both still share an interest in the biogeography of volant organisms in Southeast Asia. Dave works primarily on butterflies, and is most interested in the biogeography and evolution of mimicry rings in nymphalid butterflies of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Dave is also interested in using genomics to address questions related to tropical community ecology.
Dave was my Ph.D. advisor while I was at CUNY and we both still share an interest in the biogeography of volant organisms in Southeast Asia. Dave works primarily on butterflies, and is most interested in the biogeography and evolution of mimicry rings in nymphalid butterflies of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Dave is also interested in using genomics to address questions related to tropical community ecology.
Sigit Wiantoro, M.Sc. - Researcher at Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, LIPI)
Sigit is my Indonesian counterpart at LIPI. His primary interests lie in the alpha taxonomy and biogeography of Indonesian bats, and specializes in studying cave systems. We work together on the Indonesian component of my Pteropus phylogeography project, and will likely expand to addressing other questions related to pteropodid systematics in the near future.
Sigit is my Indonesian counterpart at LIPI. His primary interests lie in the alpha taxonomy and biogeography of Indonesian bats, and specializes in studying cave systems. We work together on the Indonesian component of my Pteropus phylogeography project, and will likely expand to addressing other questions related to pteropodid systematics in the near future.
Maria Josefa S. Veluz, M.Sc. ("Sweepea") - Head of Mammals, National Museum of the Philippines
Sweepea is my counterpart in the Philippines. Her primary interests lie in the systematics of Philippine mammals, and she has worked extensively with research teams from the Field Museum of Natural History. We work together on the Philippine component of my Pteropus phylogeography project.
Sweepea is my counterpart in the Philippines. Her primary interests lie in the systematics of Philippine mammals, and she has worked extensively with research teams from the Field Museum of Natural History. We work together on the Philippine component of my Pteropus phylogeography project.
Drs. Ian H. Mendenhall, Vijay Dhanasekaran, and Gavin Smith - Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS
Our bat-borne zoonotic virus project is in collaboration with both the Dhanasekaran and Smith labs, of which Ian is a post-doc. The Duke-NUS Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme is a leading research group for studying zoonotic pathogens and they have abundant experience through their past studies of coronaviruses and paramyxoviruses. We are primarily focusing on our samples from Indonesia in the current phase of the project, but there may be opportunities for expanding our project to other parts of Southeast Asia.
Our bat-borne zoonotic virus project is in collaboration with both the Dhanasekaran and Smith labs, of which Ian is a post-doc. The Duke-NUS Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme is a leading research group for studying zoonotic pathogens and they have abundant experience through their past studies of coronaviruses and paramyxoviruses. We are primarily focusing on our samples from Indonesia in the current phase of the project, but there may be opportunities for expanding our project to other parts of Southeast Asia.
Sheherazade ("Sera") - Outreach Coordinator and Specialist at Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
Sera was my student when I was on my Fulbright research fellowship in Indonesia from 2012-2013. She has worked closely with local communities as an outreach coordinator with a small NGO in Sulawesi, the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation, and has started her Master's research on the role of pteropodids in durian seed dispersal and pollination at the University of Florida through the USAID CIFOR program. We are working together on creating local community initiatives for bat conservation to combat the bushmeat trade, and also capacity building for Indonesian students.
Sera was my student when I was on my Fulbright research fellowship in Indonesia from 2012-2013. She has worked closely with local communities as an outreach coordinator with a small NGO in Sulawesi, the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation, and has started her Master's research on the role of pteropodids in durian seed dispersal and pollination at the University of Florida through the USAID CIFOR program. We are working together on creating local community initiatives for bat conservation to combat the bushmeat trade, and also capacity building for Indonesian students.
Dr. Emily Rollinson - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Applied Biomathematics [website]
I work with Emily on a variety of projects using spatial ecological tools. We are current working on 1) developing more accurate and effective models for conservation regarding the area of occurrence of restricted Pteropus species in island landscapes, and 2) applying these models towards answering biogeographic questions related to the species-area relationship of pteropodid species, specifically Pteropus. Emily is primarily a plant community ecologist focused on studying biological invasions and disturbance ecology in the United States.
I work with Emily on a variety of projects using spatial ecological tools. We are current working on 1) developing more accurate and effective models for conservation regarding the area of occurrence of restricted Pteropus species in island landscapes, and 2) applying these models towards answering biogeographic questions related to the species-area relationship of pteropodid species, specifically Pteropus. Emily is primarily a plant community ecologist focused on studying biological invasions and disturbance ecology in the United States.
Drs. Kartik Chandran and Melinda Ng - Albert Einstein College of Medicine [website]
I work with Kartik and his postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Melinda Ng, on evolution of resistance to filovirus infection in Asian pteropodids. The Chandran lab primarily focuses on the role of the gene NPC1 in facilitating host invasion by filoviruses (Ebola, Marburg, and Reston viruses). We are also interested in uncovering how ecological factors allow for persistence of filoviruses in bat hosts.
I work with Kartik and his postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Melinda Ng, on evolution of resistance to filovirus infection in Asian pteropodids. The Chandran lab primarily focuses on the role of the gene NPC1 in facilitating host invasion by filoviruses (Ebola, Marburg, and Reston viruses). We are also interested in uncovering how ecological factors allow for persistence of filoviruses in bat hosts.
The Southeast Asian Conservation Research Unit is a group of foreign and local bat researchers who have organized together to better direct regional research priorities and capacity building. We hold expert workshops and international conferences to help facilitate networking between chiropterologists. Besides being a part of the steering committee, I collaborate with various members of the group on regional projects that cannot be completed with only single-country partnerships.
Tambora is a network geared towards young Indonesian conservation biologists, practitioners, and researchers. The group aims to provide news about conferences, job opportunities, and more to students as there is a lack of accessibility to this information from a centralized source in Indonesia. As part of the steering committee, we also organize professional development and training workshops to mostly undergraduate and Master's students. We hope that the formation of a nation-wide network of the next generation of Indonesian researchers will also promote comparative research efforts across islands.