About me
I am an Evolutionary Ecologist and Educator. As a biology education researcher, I am developing pedagogical strategies that help engage and retain students in the biological sciences. My current focus is in understanding what are the elements of field courses that can help engage and retain all students interested in pursuing a career in the life sciences. As a biologist, I am also broadly interested in the microevolutionary processes that allow species diversification while interacting with a second or third species. I have worked on this and related topics in different systems.
My interest in species interactions grew from an upbringing in Colombia and the immense species diversity in tropical and cloud forests. I began describing bat diets around my hometown, and eventually I went on to an undergrad program in Zoology and Ecology at the University of Toronto, where I studied bat diversity in Suriname and Jamaica with Dr. Burton Lim and Dr. Mark Engstrom.
During my time as an undergrad I also met Dr. Megan Frederickson and became fascinated with the co-adaptations observed in insect-plant interactions. I worked under her supervision during my masters at the University of Toronto studying ant diet and its implications to ant-plant systems in the Peruvian amazon. As a PhD student, I worked on determining local adaptation processes in the Northeastern region of the US with milkweed plants and specialized herbivorous insects under the supervision of Dr. Anurag Agrawal.
While teaching during my PhD years, I started to understand the great impact and potential of utilizing inclusive and student-center pedagogical tools to promote engament, retantion, and beloging of undergraduate students in the sciences. I have dedicated my work to understanding, developing, and implementing these pedagogical tools in introductory course. For a detailed CV please contact me at larcilah@ucsc.edu
My interest in species interactions grew from an upbringing in Colombia and the immense species diversity in tropical and cloud forests. I began describing bat diets around my hometown, and eventually I went on to an undergrad program in Zoology and Ecology at the University of Toronto, where I studied bat diversity in Suriname and Jamaica with Dr. Burton Lim and Dr. Mark Engstrom.
During my time as an undergrad I also met Dr. Megan Frederickson and became fascinated with the co-adaptations observed in insect-plant interactions. I worked under her supervision during my masters at the University of Toronto studying ant diet and its implications to ant-plant systems in the Peruvian amazon. As a PhD student, I worked on determining local adaptation processes in the Northeastern region of the US with milkweed plants and specialized herbivorous insects under the supervision of Dr. Anurag Agrawal.
While teaching during my PhD years, I started to understand the great impact and potential of utilizing inclusive and student-center pedagogical tools to promote engament, retantion, and beloging of undergraduate students in the sciences. I have dedicated my work to understanding, developing, and implementing these pedagogical tools in introductory course. For a detailed CV please contact me at larcilah@ucsc.edu
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