Lab Personnel

Rahel is an immunologist from Switzerland, where she studied at the University of Bern. For her master's degree, she worked on understanding inhibitory mechanisms of human basophils during allergic reactions. For her PhD thesis, she is focusing on the impact of life history variation on the evolution of immune genes in different populations of Molossid bats. With a keen interest in science communication, she is also building experience in science writing.

Peter is a molecular ecologist from Bristol, UK. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Cardiff University. His work focused on the conservation genetics of the critically-endangered Angonoka (Astrochelys yniphora) tortoise, assessing population demographics, genetic diversity and species viability under extinction risk. As a rotation student he has worked on primate phylogenetics, species life-history traits and the epigenetic mechanisms of stress in Arabidopsis. As a PhD student his work focuses on the epigenetic mechanisms of abiotic stress responses in non-model plant systems. Outside the lab he enjoys climbing, reading and diving around Okinawa’s many reefs. 

Amy is an ecologist with interests in agroecology, invasive species, and phytochemistry. After spending her internship measuring the relationships between soybean nodulation, caterpillar growth, and immune functioning, she is now working on studies linking phytochemistry, decomposition, and nutrient cycling in Okinawa's subtropical forests.

Widya comes to our unit from a background in mathematics. During her rotation, she developed a model to study dormancy and predation-mediated coexistence of microbial communities. She continues this work for her PhD and is also developing models and experiments to understand regime shifts and hysteresis in fluctuating environments.

Maya is a biologist from Japan and the United States. She earned her bachelor's degree from Macalester College, where she studied land use impacts on freshwater mussels. Her primary research interests are in species interactions, invasibility and resilience, and landscape level patterns in ecosystems. In her free time, Maya can usually be found somewhere outdoors or on the search for the best noodles on the island. 

Kishin's research interest lies in complex plant-insect interactions. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the School of Interdisciplinary Science and Innovation at Kyushu University, Japan where he studied the taxonomy of parasitoid wasps that parasitize gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) and became fascinated by the diversity of galls and their associates. For his rotation in our unit, he is quantifying the morphological variation in Darlingtonia from herbarium records and learning more about the interactions between pitcher plants and insects!

Sam is a community ecologist originally from the UK, but he moved to Ireland for a PhD at Trinity College Dublin before joining OIST. In our Unit he integrates theoretical and conceptual developments with methods including aquatic experiments and terrestrial acoustic monitoring. Sam’s work generally aims to address fundamental questions concerning the drivers of ecological stability; particularly he’s exploring the role of “response diversity” as a mechanism underpinning stability. In his spare time, he can be found exploring the island on his scooter (scoot scoot!), critiquing convenience store umeshu, or making waves as Okinawa’s least-requested DJ.

Toyo is a mathematical ecologist trained in Belgium and Scotland. During her PhD, she applied dynamical systems theory to investigate dry rangeland resilience, eco-evolutionary dynamics, and vegetation patterns through deterministic mechanistic models. Currently at OIST, her research centers on ecological connectivity in the face of climate change, utilizing tools such as species distribution modeling and stochastic Markov chains. Outside of work, Toyo enjoys drawing comics and snorkeling.

Alex is a molecular biologist from Oaxaca, Mexico, he studied biology at the University of the Americas Puebla and his masters degree at the University of Leeds. He joined the Institute of Ecology (INECOL) in Mexico as a technician in the Plant Genomics and Transcriptomics lab and was in charge of the sequencing core-lab facility. He’s interested in the molecular interactions of nematodes and insects with plants, including their associated bacterial communities. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys photography and having coffee with friends.

Katie is from Texas and earned her bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Texas at Austin. She studied mating behavior of horeshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) for her master's degree at the University of Florida. Katie has since worked in scientific publishing, seabird population monitoring, wild bird rehabilitation, and aquatic ecology research. 

Mei is a undergraduate student from Japan. She is interested in plant community ecology. Before studying biology, she graduated from the department of foreign languages and studied abroad in Lithuania for one year. Mei is currently synthesizing spatial population genetic datasets to test models of landscape connectivity.

Ken is an aspiring molecular ecologist with an undergraduate degree from UCLA, where he modeled present and future habitat suitability for three alpine butterflies endemic to California’s Sierra Nevada. Before his internship, he worked at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, extracting plant DNA and assembling chloroplast genomes for several Dudleya species. In his free time, he’s probably climbing. At OIST, he is devising modeling strategies to improve our forecasts of climate-driven range shifts in plants.

Shizuka hails from Okinawa but has spent time away from the island while studying in Kumamoto, Canada and the U.S. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Washington State University Pullman, and has since worked at the US Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Unum Insurance in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and has worked at OIST for the past 10 years. Outside of the office, Shizuka enjoys performing Hawaiian Hula dance, CrossFit, and is currently learning how to play golf.