Research

I am an insect neuroethologist and physiologist using an interdisciplinary lens to address big questions in insect biology:

• What are the welfare concerns of farmed insects?
• How does the nervous system change in response to cognitive demands or allometric constraints?
• Can insects feel pain?

I collaborate with philosophers, welfare scientists, and industry professionals to study the welfare concerns of farmed insects (black soldier flies, mealworms, crickets) and how insect nervous systems support a variety of sensory responses (including to noxious stimuli), especially in view of allometric constraints.

I am also the Founding Director of the Insect Welfare Research Society (2023).

Active research interests

• Insect pain and welfare
• Arthropod neuroethology
• Insect ecophysiology

Visit my website to read more about my research, see my publications, learn about opportunities in my lab, and more.

Education

• PhD in Biological Sciences, Drexel University, March 2022
• MS in Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum, Drexel University, March 2022
• BS in Biological Sciences, summa cum laude, second major in English/Creative Writing, honors minor, State University of New York at Geneseo, May 2016