Brian is a PhD student in the Hopkins Lab, and a 2018 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (GRFP). His research interests broadly encompass the impacts human development on the viability of natural systems and wildlife populations, especially herpetofauna within freshwater environments. For his dissertation, Brian is studying the seasonal reproductive physiology and paternity of Eastern hellbender giant salamanders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis).
Brian holds a B.A. in Biology from Bucknell University where he conducted research with Dr. Mizuki Takahashi. As an undergraduate, he examined the presence of multiple paternity within Pennsylvania’s Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum), while contributing to studies of Eastern Newt (Notopothalumus viridescens) maternal effects, and surveys of chytrid prevalence in the Susquehanna Valley.
Brian’s background also includes two years of professional experience in environmental policy. Following graduation from Bucknell, he served the only microbiologist in the United States Congress, Rep. Louise Slaughter from NY. While there, he assisted with efforts to curb the misuse of antibiotics in agriculture, in addition to furthering Great Lakes conservation initiatives.
