People

Allen Collins

Allen Collins is Director of the NOAA National Systematics Laboratory, part of the Office of Science & Technology of the National Marine Fisheries Service. He is a systematist of marine taxa who has written extensively on medusozoan cnidarians (also sponges, comb jellies, placozoans and some bilaterians) emphasizing phylogeny, character evolution, and geographical distributions. He has an earnest commitment to both training and collaboration. As curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology for some of the world’s best collections, he provides access to these collections so that they can be responsibly studied. Our lab has seen to fruition studies of taxonomy, phylogenetics, biogeography, phylogeography, comparative genomics, differential gene expression, etc. In addition to research, our lab hosts interns, participates in outreach activities at the museum, and provide tours of the Smithsonian collections to as many individuals as possible, from elementary school students to Federal Agency leadership.

Postdocs and Graduate Students

Cristiana Castello Branco, Postdoc, Systematics of Deep-Sea Sponges, 2019-present

Adela Roa-Varon, Postdoc, Integrative Taxonomy and Species Delimitation of Hakes (Merluccius, Merlucciidae), an Important Group for Fisheries, 2020-2021

Edgar Gamero-Mora, visiting PhD student, Systematics of Cassiopea, 2019

Eric Yukihiro Nishiyama, visiting PhD student, Morphological Diversity of Siphonophores, 2018-2019

Rebecca Helm, Postdoc, The Evolution of Metamorphosis in Jellyfishes, 2017-2018

Clarissa Garbi Molinari, visiting Masters student, Systematics of Nausithoe, 2018

Aaron Hartmann, Postdoc, Assembly of Marine Biodiversity Along Geographic and Anthropogenic Stress Gradients (Smithsonian), 2014-2017

Carlos Moura, Postdoc (mostly resident at the University of the Azores), Systematics and Evolution of Plumularoid Hydrozoans, 2013-2017

Jessica Goodheart, PhD Student, Systematics and Evolution of Nudibranchia (University of Maryland), 2013-2017

Emma Ransome, Postdoc, Assembly of Marine Biodiversity Along Geographic and Anthropogenic Stress Gradients (Smithsonian), 2013-2017

Ehsan Kayal, Postdoc, Phylogenomics of Porifera and Cnidaria (Smithsonian), 2014-2016

Bastian Bentlage, Postdoc, Phylogenetics of trachyline and other jellyfish groups (Smithsonian), 2014-2016

Alicia Perez-Porro, Postdoc, Comparative transcriptomics of sponges and their microbial symbionts (Smithsonian), 2015-2016

Marina de Oliveira Fernandez, Smithsonian Graduate Fellow, Patterns and Processes Related to Depth and Latitude Distribution of Hydrozoa (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2015-2016

Amanda Ferreira Cunha, Smithsonian Graduate Fellow, Biodiversity of Campanulariid Hydrozoans (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2014-2015

Thais Pires Miranda, Smithsonian Graduate Fellow, Biogeography of Southern Ocean Hydroids (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2013

Niamh Redmond, Postdoc, Phylogenetic Relationships of Demospongiae (Smithsonian), 2009-2013

Lucilia Souza Miranda, Smithsonian Graduate Fellow, Staurozoan Biodiversity (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2013

Cheryl Lewis Ames, PhD Student, Venom Evolution in Box Jellyfish (University of Maryland), 2012-2017

Martin Dohrmann, Postdoc, Systematics of Hexactinellida (Smithsonian), 2010-2012

Bastian Bentlage, PhD Student, Box Jellyfish and Ecological Niche Modeling (University of Kansas), 2007-2012

Ehsan Kayal, Smithsonian Predoctoral Fellow, Mitochondrial Genomes (Smithsonian), 2010-2011

Genelle Harrison, Masters Student, Brackish Water Hydromedusae (American University), 2009-2010

Advisor for Interns

Jenny Shi, Stanford U. (2020), Alex Makogon, Coastal Carolina U. (2020-2021), Chesna Mandl, U. Maryland (2020-), Kela Bakari, Howard U. (2019-2020), Nick Bezio, Cal State U. Monterey Bay (2019), Alia Payne, Maryland Institute and College of Art (2019-2020), Kelly Walls, U. of Arkansas (2019), Lauren Thomas (2018-2019), Avery Pearson, George Washington U. (2019), Alexandra Straus, George Washington U. (2018-2019), Christine Martin, Rollins College (2017-2018), Grace Callahan, Dartmouth College (2017), Anna Klompen (2016-2017), Zoe Grabenstetter, local high school (2016), Roberta Bracale U. Solento (2015), Katherine Muffett, local high school (2015, 2018), Mehr Kumar, local high school (2014-2015), Angka Mahardini, Udayana University Indonesia (2014), Andrianus Sembering, Udayana University Indonesia (2014), Eka Kurniashih, , Udayana University Indonesia (2014), PLUS Akela Kuwahara, Daniel Keil, Romain Hubert, Jonathan Lawley, Pablo Vasquez Garcia, Sarah Klontz, Luke Hecht, Anne-Cecille Dagaeff, Tara Lynn, Santiago Hererra, and others