aaron olsen , phd
Founder at 3D Anatomy Studios
founder , 3d anatomy studio
scientist , designer , maker based providence , rhode island expertise anatomy mechanic , programming ( j , r , c++ ) , x-ray/ct medical imaging analysis , fdm 3d printing , bio-design . received phd organismal biology anatomy 2016 university chicago studying bird behavior evolution . joined department ecology , evolution organismal biology brown university nsf postdoctoral fellow ( 2016-2018 ) later anatomy research teaching postdoc ( 2018-2021 ) . brown , researched structure function animal helped teach human anatomy future doctor brown 's warren alpert medical school . currently founder 3d anatomy studio , worker-owned cooperative company expertise animal anatomy , mechanic , design . always interested building new professional relationship . want connect , question , need help please n't hesitate connect send message !
3D Anatomy Studios
https://www.linkedin.com/company/3d-anatomy-studios
Providence, Rhode Island, United States
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Founder
Brown University
https://www.linkedin.com/company/brown-university
Providence, Rhode Island Area
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Anatomy Teaching and Research Postdoctoral Fellow
Brown University
https://www.linkedin.com/company/brown-university
Providence, Rhode Island Area
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NSF Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD
Organismal Biology & Anatomy
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The University of Chicago
https://www.linkedin.com/school/uchicago/
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Biochemistry
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The University of Kansas
https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-kansas/
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Languages for Humanitarian Aid, Special Major
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The University of Kansas
https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-kansas/
Research Assistant
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Universität Konstanz
https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-konstanz/
Study Abroad
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Universidad de Murcia
https://www.linkedin.com/school/universidad-de-murcia/
Fish perform many complex manipulation behaviors without hands or flexible muscular tongues, instead relying on more than 20 movable skeletal elements in their highly kinetic skulls. How fish use their skulls to accomplish these behaviors, however, remains unclear. Most previous mechanical models have represented the fish skull using one or more planar four-bar linkages, which have just a single degree of freedom (DoF). In contrast, truncated-cone hydrodynamic models have assumed up to five DoFs. In this study, we introduce and validate a 3D mechanical linkage model of a fish skull that incorporates the pectoral girdle and mandibular and hyoid arches. We validate this model using an in vivo motion dataset of suction feeding in channel catfish and then use this model to quantify the DoFs in the fish skull, to categorize the motion patterns of the cranial linkage during feeding, and to evaluate the association between these patterns and food motion. We find that the channel catfish skull functions as a 17-link, five-loop parallel mechanism. Despite having 19 potential DoFs, we find that seven DoFs are sufficient to describe most of the motion of the cranial linkage, consistent with the fish skull functioning as a multi-DoF, manipulation system. Channel catfish use this linkage to generate three different motion patterns (rostrocaudal wave, caudorostral wave, and compressive wave), each with its own associated food velocity profile. These results suggest that biomechanical manipulation systems must have a minimum number of DoFs to effectively control objects, whether in water or air.
Multiple Degrees of Freedom in the Fish Skull and Their Relation to Hydraulic Transport of Prey in Channel Catfish
Integrative Organismal Biology
https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/2/1/obaa031/5962090
Most predatory ray-finned fishes swallow their food whole – which can pose a significant challenge, given that prey items can be half as large as the predators themselves. How do fish transport captured food from the mouth to the stomach? Prior work indicates that, in general, fish use the pharyngeal jaws to manipulate food into the esophagus, where peristalsis is thought to take over. We used X-Ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) to track prey transport in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). By reconstructing the 3D motions of both the food and the catfish, we were able to track how the catfish move food through the head and into the stomach. Food enters the oral cavity at high velocities as a continuation of suction and stops in the approximate location of the branchial basket before moving in a much slower, more complex path toward the esophagus. This slow phase coincides with little motion in the head and no substantial mouth opening or hyoid depression. Once the prey is in the esophagus, however, its transport is surprisingly tightly correlated with gulping motions (hyoid depression, girdle retraction, hypaxial shortening, and mouth opening) of the head. Although the transport mechanism itself remains unknown, to our knowledge, this is the first description of synchrony between cranial expansion and esophageal transport in a fish. Our results provide direct evidence of prey transport within the esophagus and suggest that peristalsis may not be the sole mechanism of esophageal transport in catfish.
An XROMM study of food transport and swallowing in channel catfish
Integrative Organismal Biology
https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/doi/10.1093/iob/obaa018/5860021
For many fish species, rhythmic movement of the pectoral fins, or forelimbs, drives locomotion. In terrestrial vertebrates, normal limb-based rhythmic gaits require ongoing modulation with limb mechanosensors. Given the complexity of the fluid environment and dexterity of fish swimming through it, we hypothesize that mechanosensory modulation is also critical to normal fin-based swimming. Here, we examined the role of sensory feedback from the pectoral fin rays and membrane on the neuromuscular control and kinematics of pectoral fin-based locomotion. Pectoral fin kinematics and electromyograms of the six major fin muscles of the parrotfish, Scarus quoyi, a high-performance pectoral fin swimmer, were recorded during steady swimming before and after bilateral transection of the sensory nerves extending into the rays and surrounding membrane. Alternating activity of antagonistic muscles was observed and drove the fin in a figure-of-eight fin stroke trajectory before and after nerve transection. After bilateral transections, pectoral fin rhythmicity remained the same or increased. Differences in fin kinematics with the loss of sensory feedback also included fin kinematics with a significantly more inclined stroke plane angle, an increased angular velocity and fin beat frequency, and a transition to the body-caudal fin gait at lower speeds. After transection, muscles were active over a larger proportion of the fin stroke, with overlapping activation of antagonistic muscles rarely observed in the trials of intact fish. The increased overlap of antagonistic muscle activity might stiffen the fin system in order to enhance control and stability in the absence of sensory feedback from the fin rays. These results indicate that fin ray sensation is not necessary to generate the underlying rhythm of fin movement, but contributes to the specification of pectoral fin motor pattern and movement during rhythmic swimming.
Pectoral fin kinematics and motor patterns are shaped by fin ray mechanosensation during steady swimming in Scarus quoyi
Journal of Experimental Biology
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/2/jeb211466
Closed kinematic chains (CKCs), links connected to form one or more closed loops, are used as simple models of musculoskeletal systems (e.g. the four-bar linkage). Previous applications of CKCs have primarily focused on biomechanical systems with rigid links and permanently closed chains, which results in constant mobility (the total degrees of freedom of a system). However, systems with non-rigid elements (e.g. ligaments and muscles) and that alternate between open and closed chains (e.g. standing on one foot versus two) can also be treated as CKCs with changing mobility. Given that, in general, systems that have fewer degrees of freedom are easier to control, what implications might such dynamic changes in mobility have for motor control? Here, I propose a CKC classification to explain the different ways in which mobility of musculoskeletal systems can change dynamically during behavior. This classification is based on the mobility formula, taking into account the number of loops in the CKC and the nature of the constituent joint mobilities. I apply this mobility-based classification to five biomechanical systems: the human lower limbs, the operculum–lower jaw mechanism of fishes, the upper beak rotation mechanism of birds, antagonistic muscles at the human ankle joint and the human jaw processing a food item. I discuss the implications of this classification, including that mobility itself may be dynamically manipulated to simplify motor control. The principal aim of this Commentary is to provide a framework for quantifying mobility across diverse musculoskeletal systems to evaluate its potentially key role in motor control.
A mobility-based classification of closed kinematic chains in biomechanics and implications for motor control
Journal of Experimental Biology
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/21/jeb195735
High-performance suction feeding is often presented as a classic innovation of ray-finned fishes, likely contributing to their remarkable evolutionary success, whereas sharks, with seemingly less sophisticated jaws, are generally portrayed as morphologically conservative throughout their history. Here, using a combination of computational modeling, physical modeling, and quantitative three-dimensional motion simulation, we analyze the cranial skeleton of one of the earliest known stem elasmobranchs, Tristychius arcuatus from the Middle Mississippian of Scotland. The feeding apparatus is revealed as highly derived, capable of substantial oral expansion, and with clear potential for high-performance suction feeding some 50 million years before the earliest osteichthyan equivalent. This exceptional jaw performance is not apparent from standard measures of ecomorphospace using two-dimensional data. Tristychius signals the emergence of entirely new chondrichthyan ecomorphologies in the aftermath of the end-Devonian extinction and highlights sharks as significant innovators in the early radiation of the modern vertebrate biota.
High-performance suction feeding in an early elasmobranch
Science Advances
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/9/eaax2742
We start with a general description of the structure of the feeding apparatus in birds (Sect. 17.1), then we describe the biomechanics of those parts (Sect. 17.2), including a review of contemporary approaches to the study of bird feeding morphology and function. We establish explicit links between form and function, and consequent relations to foraging behaviors. In Sect. 17.3, we systematically explore the vast diversity of bird feeding environments by grouping foraging (searching) and feeding (handling—consumption) mechanisms that birds use on land, air, and water. Each one of these subsections addresses not only what birds eat, but also how they feed. We dedicate a separate Sect. (17.4) to drinking because most birds have to perform this process regardless of their diet, and often using different mechanisms than the ones they use to feed. We then discuss evolutionary forces and patterns in bird feeding (convergences, radiations, trade-offs, etc.), including functions different from handling and ingestion that also act to shape the feeding apparatus in birds (Sect. 17.5).
Feeding in Birds: Thriving in Terrestrial, Aquatic, and Aerial Niches
Feeding in Vertebrates
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_17
When animals move they must coordinate motion among multiple parts of the musculoskeletal system. Different behaviours exhibit different patterns of coordination, however, it remains unclear what general principles determine the coordination pattern for a particular behaviour. One hypothesis is that speed determines coordination patterns as a result of differences in voluntary versus involuntary control. An alternative hypothesis is that the nature of the behavioural task determines patterns of coordination. Suction-feeding fishes have highly kinetic skulls and must coordinate the motions of over a dozen skeletal elements to draw fluid and prey into the mouth. We used a dataset of intracranial motions at five cranial joints in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), collected using X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology, to test whether speed or task best explained patterns of coordination. We found that motions were significantly more coordinated (by 20–29%) during prey capture than during prey transport, supporting the hypothesis that the nature of the task determines coordination patterns. We found no significant difference in coordination between low- and high-speed motions. We speculate that capture is more coordinated to create a single fluid flow into the mouth while transport is less coordinated so that the cranial elements can independently generate multiple flows to reposition prey. Our results demonstrate the benefits of both higher and lower coordination in animal behaviours and the potential of motion analysis to elucidate motor tasks.
Channel catfish use higher coordination to capture prey than to swallow
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.0507
The organization of tissues in appendages often affects their mechanical properties and function. In the fish family Labridae, swimming behavior is associated with pectoral fin flexural stiffness and morphology, where fins range on a continuum from stiff to relatively flexible fins. Across this diversity, pectoral fin flexural stiffness decreases exponentially along the length of any given fin ray, and ray stiffness decreases along the chord of the fin from the leading to trailing edge. In this study, we examine the morphological properties of fin rays, including the effective modulus in bending (E ), second moment of area (I ), segmentation, and branching patterns, and their impact on fin ray stiffness. We quantify intrinsic pectoral fin ray stiffness in similarly sized fins of two closely related species that employ fins of divergent mechanics, the flapping Gomphosus varius and the rowing Halichoeres bivittatus . While segmentation patterns and E were similar between species, measurements of I and the number of fin ray branch nodes were greater in G. varius than in H. bivittatus . A multiple regression model found that of these variables, I was always significantly correlated with fin ray flexural stiffness and that variation in I always explained the majority of the variation in flexural stiffness. Thus, while most of the morphological variables quantified in this study correlate with fin ray flexural stiffness, second moment of area is the greatest factor contributing to variation in flexural stiffness. Further, interspecific variation in fin ray branching pattern could be used as a means of tuning the effective stiffness of the fin webbing to differences in swimming behavior and hydrodynamics. The comparison of these results to other systems begins to unveil fundamental morphological features of biological beams and yields insight into the role of mechanical properties in fin deformation for aquatic locomotion.
A comparison of pectoral fin ray morphology and its impact on fin ray flexural stiffness in labriform swimmers
Journal of Morphology
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.20830
The functional capabilities of flexible, propulsive appendages are directly influenced by their mechanical properties. The fins of fishes have undergone extraordinary evolutionary diversification in structure and function, which raises questions of how fin mechanics relate to swimming behavior. In the fish family Labridae, pectoral fin swimming behavior ranges from rowing to flapping. Rowers are more maneuverable than flappers, but flappers generate greater thrust at high speeds and achieve greater mechanical efficiency at all speeds. Interspecific differences in hydrodynamic capability are largely dependent on fin kinematics and deformation, and are expected to correlate with fin stiffness. Here we examine fin ray stiffness in two closely related species that employ divergent swimming behaviors, the flapping Gomphosus varius and the rowing Halichoeres bivittatus. To determine the spatial distribution of flexural stiffness across the fin, we performed three-point bending tests at the center of the proximal, middle and distal regions of four equally spaced fin rays. Pectoral fin ray flexural stiffness ranged from 0.0001 to 1.5109 µN m2, and the proximal regions of G. varius fin rays were nearly an order of magnitude stiffer than those of H. bivittatus. In both species, fin ray flexural stiffness decreased exponentially along the proximodistal span of fin rays, and flexural stiffness decreased along the fin chord from the leading to the trailing edge. Furthermore, the proportion of fin area occupied by fin rays was significantly greater in G. varius than in H. bivittatus, suggesting that the proportion of fin ray to fin area contributes to differences in fin mechanics.
The relationship between pectoral fin stiffness and swimming behavior in Labridae: insights into design, performance, and ecology
Journal of Experimental Biology
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/221/1/jeb163360
The planar, one degree of freedom (1-DoF) four-bar linkage is an important model for understanding the function, performance and evolution of numerous biomechanical systems. One such system is the opercular mechanism in fishes, which is thought to function like a four-bar linkage to depress the lower jaw. While anatomical and behavioral observations suggest some form of mechanical coupling, previous attempts to model the opercular mechanism as a planar four-bar have consistently produced poor model fits relative to observed kinematics. Using newly developed, open source mechanism fitting software, we fitted multiple three-dimensional (3D) four-bar models with varying DoF to in vivo kinematics in largemouth bass to test whether the opercular mechanism functions instead as a 3D four-bar with one or more DoF. We examined link position error, link rotation error and the ratio of output to input link rotation to identify a best-fit model at two different levels of variation: for each feeding strike and across all strikes from the same individual. A 3D, 3-DoF four-bar linkage was the best-fit model for the opercular mechanism, achieving link rotational errors of less than 5%. We also found that the opercular mechanism moves with multiple degrees of freedom at the level of each strike and across multiple strikes. These results suggest that active motor control may be needed to direct the force input to the mechanism by the axial muscles and achieve a particular mouth-opening trajectory. Our results also expand the versatility of four-bar models in simulating biomechanical systems and extend their utility beyond planar or single-DoF systems.
The opercular mouth-opening mechanism of largemouth bass functions as a 3D four-bar linkage with three degrees of freedom
Journal of Experimental Biology
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/220/24/4612
Labrid fishes use their pectoral fins for efficient high-speed cruising behavior, as well as for precision maneuvering in complex environments, making them good models for biomimicry applications in propulsor technology for aquatic vehicles. Lift-based labriform locomotion is a form of aquatic flight used by many species and is the sole mode of transport across most speeds by some of the largest wrasses and parrotfishes on coral reefs. Although basic and applied research has explored fin design in several species utilizing labriform propulsion, a detailed analysis of fin anatomy, fin mechanical properties, and well-resolved three-dimensional (3D) kinematics in high-performance aquatic flyers has not yet been attained. Here, we present recent research on fin structure, fin flexural stiffness, sensory abilities of fins, and a novel 3D approach to flexible fin kinematics. Our aims are to outline important future directions for this field and to assist engineers attempting biomimicry of maneuverable fin-based locomotion for applications in robotics. First, we illustrate the anatomical structure and branching patterns of the pectoral fin skeleton and the muscles that drive fin motion. Second, we present data on the flexural stiffness of pectoral fins in the parrotfish (Scarus quoyi), setting up a stiffness field that gives the fin propulsor its passive mechanical properties and enables hydrodynamically advantageous fin deformations during swimming. Third, we present 3D reconstructions of the kinematics of high-performance Scarus fins that greatly enhance our ability to reproduce fin motions for engineering applications and also yield insight into the functional role of the fin stiffness field. Lastly, recent work on mechanosensation is illustrated as key to understanding sensorimotor control of labriform locomotion.
Bioinspiration From Flexible Propulsors: Organismal Design, Mechanical Properties, Kinematics and Neurobiology of Pectoral Fins in Labrid Fishes
Marine Technology Society Journal
https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj/2017/00000051/00000005/art00003;jsessionid=i6vd3muj9td5.x-ic-live-03
Non-intrusive and non-destructive acquisition of length measurements for marine megafauna is increasingly valuable given growing threats to many species’ long-term survival. Stereo videography provides a means of obtaining length data with minimal impact on the organism and minimal observer bias. However, for many researchers, there are still significant financial barriers to employing stereo videography. Small-action cameras have reduced costs, but camera calibration still requires significant investment in software and equipment. Here, we trial open source calibration procedures using the R package StereoMorph and a simple 2D checkerboard as a calibration object to test if this approach yields accurate length data. We used a stereo-video system comprising 2 GoPro™ cameras to estimate the lengths of known targets in a pool and the lengths of oceanic whitetip sharks Carcharhinus longimanus in situ. Sharks were restrained in water alongside a boat and measured with a tape measure for comparison with the stereo-video lengths. Both pool and field trials yielded accurate results comparable to previous studies using 3D calibration cubes. Stereo-video measurements of lengths >1 m had proportional errors of <1% in the pool and <3.0% (64.2 mm) in comparison with tape-measured lengths of sharks in the field. Our open source calibration methods and affordable GoPro™-based stereo-video system yielded measurements that are comparable to other systems that use 3D calibration techniques and more expensive cameras. Additionally, we improve on previous attempts of 2D calibration approaches.
Affordable and accurate stereo-video system for measuring dimensions underwater- a case study using Oceanic Whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus)
Marine Ecology Progress Series
http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v574/p75-84/
The diversity of beak shapes among birds is often assumed to be largely the result of adaptations to different feeding behaviors and diets. However, this assumption has only been tested for a small subset of avian diversity, primarily within the order Passeriformes. I quantified the association between beak shape and feeding ecology for 42 species in the bird order Anseriformes (waterfowl) using 3D curvature of the upper beak collected from museum specimens and continuous dietary data compiled from the literature. Diet is strongly and significantly correlated with beak shape in waterfowl. An ancestral beak shape reconstruction and the reconstructed diet of the anseriform fossil Presbyornis both support filter‐feeding as ancestral for most waterfowl, followed by multiple, significantly convergent transitions from a duck‐like beak toward a more goose‐like beak. These results demonstrate that feeding ecology has acted as the primary selective force in the diversification of waterfowl beak shapes, including the convergent originations of geese.
Feeding ecology is the primary driver of beak shape diversification in waterfowl
Functional Ecology
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.12890
Many musculoskeletal systems, including the skulls of birds, fishes, and some lizards consist of interconnected chains of mobile skeletal elements, analogous to linkage mechanisms used in engineering. Biomechanical studies have applied linkage models to a diversity of musculoskeletal systems, with previous applications primarily focusing on two‐dimensional linkage geometries, bilaterally symmetrical pairs of planar linkages, or single four‐bar linkages. Here, we present new, three‐dimensional (3D), parallel linkage models of the skulls of birds and fishes and use these models (available as free kinematic simulation software), to investigate structure–function relationships in these systems. This new computational framework provides an accessible and integrated workflow for exploring the evolution of structure and function in complex musculoskeletal systems. Linkage simulations show that kinematic transmission, although a suitable functional metric for linkages with single rotating input and output links, can give misleading results when applied to linkages with substantial translational components or multiple output links. To take into account both linear and rotational displacement we define force mechanical advantage for a linkage (analogous to lever mechanical advantage) and apply this metric to measure transmission efficiency in the bird cranial mechanism. For linkages with multiple, expanding output points we propose a new functional metric, expansion advantage, to measure expansion amplification and apply this metric to the buccal expansion mechanism in fishes. Using the bird cranial linkage model, we quantify the inaccuracies that result from simplifying a 3D geometry into two dimensions. We also show that by combining single‐chain linkages into parallel linkages, more links can be simulated while decreasing or maintaining the same number of input parameters.
Linkage mechanisms in the vertebrate skull: Structure and function of three-dimensional, parallel transmission systems
Journal of Morphology
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.20596
Herbivory is rare among birds and is usually thought to have evolved predominately among large, flightless birds due to energetic constraints or an association with increased body mass. Nearly all members of the bird order Anseriformes, which includes ducks, geese, and swans, are flighted and many are predominately herbivorous. However, it is unknown whether herbivory represents a derived state for the order and how many times a predominately herbivorous diet may have evolved. Compiling data from over 200 published diet studies to create a continuous character for herbivory, models of trait evolution support at least five independent transitions toward a predominately herbivorous diet in Anseriformes. Although a nonphylogenetic correlation test recovers a significant positive correlation between herbivory and body mass, this correlation is not significant when accounting for phylogeny. These results indicate a lack of support for the hypothesis that a larger body mass confers an advantage in the digestion of low‐quality diets but does not exclude the possibility that shifts to a more abundant food source have driven shifts toward herbivory in other bird lineages. The exceptional number of transitions toward a more herbivorous diet in Anseriformes and lack of correlation with body mass prompts a reinterpretation of the relatively infrequent origination of herbivory among flighted birds.
Exceptional avian herbivores: multiple transitions toward herbivory in the bird order Anseriformes and its correlation with body mass
Ecology and Evolution
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.1787
If you go fishing and cast your lure out across a pond, settling it skillfully by the lily pads, you may see the water drop out from under your bait with a sucking whirlpool as you engage with the most popular sport fish in the world, the largemouth bass. Almost all popular recreational sport fish species (bass, salmon, trout, pike, grouper, snapper) feed by attacking their living prey with powerful suction, expanding their mouth and pharynx rapidly to suck the prey in before biting down and swallowing. This behavior is of great interest to scientists and recreational fishers alike because it is a dramatic, predatory event (Fig. 1) that is at the crux of survival for both predator and prey. It involves a complex system of bones and muscles to expand the head, is a widespread and ecologically successful strategy among aquatic animals, and is a major source of the excitement and allure of recreational fishing, one of the largest and most effective economic engines for environmental conservation of freshwater and marine habitats. In addition, suction feeding has been challenging to understand from the perspective of biomechanics (the study of how organisms work) because it is such a fast and complex behavior. In PNAS, Camp et al. (1) report a major advance in our understanding of how suction feeding works, using cutting-edge imaging technology and analyses of muscle mechanics to identify the source of the power that drives suction feeding in our feisty friend from the pond, the largemouth bass.
How fish power suction feeding, a commentary on Swimming muscles power suction feeding in largemouth bass.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
https://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8525
Quantitative, three‐dimensional measurements of anatomy in biology and paleontology are key to understanding the evolutionary processes underlying morphological, functional and ecological diversification. However, the collection of 3D morphometric data from a large number of samples or in the field is currently limited by methods that are either too costly, too time‐consuming or lack portability. This publication presents a new R package, StereoMorph, for the rapid and accurate collection of 3D landmarks and curves using two standard digital cameras.
StereoMorph: an R package for the collection of 3D landmarks and curves using a stereo camera setup
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.12326
Competitive $138,000 grant for the study of suction feeding biomechanics and how it has shaped the diversification of body forms in ray-finned fishes.
National Science Foundation
NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology
One of two awards given in 2016 to PhD graduates of the Biological Sciences Division.
Biological Sciences Division, University of Chicago
Best Dissertation Award
A competitive one-year fellowship to conduct research into the cranial mechanics and evolution of fish skulls at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (declined in favor of other fellowship).
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Predoctoral Fellowship
Competitive $2,000 grant for the purchase of research supplies for PhD students supported by an institutional Moto-IGERT grant.
University of Chicago
Moto-IGERT Research Award
Competitive grant providing three years of full support to research the biomechanics and evolution of feeding in birds.
National Science Foundation
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Competitive grant of $1,459 for the purchase of research supplies.
Darwinian Cluster, University of Chicago
Hinds Research Award
Competitive fellowship providing full support for 6 months of research in the immunology of respiratory bacterial infections at the University of Konstanz (Germany).
DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service
DAAD Undergraduate Fellowship
A $5,700 competitive grant supporting research into the developmental mechanisms of cell migration at the University of Kansas.
K-INBRE
K-INBRE Undergraduate Research Scholarship
Health
JAYDOC FREE CLINIC
https://www.linkedin.com/company/jaydoc-free-clinic
I served as a Spanish-English interpreter between doctors and patients at a free health clinic run by the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Spanish-English Medical Interpreter
Environment
KU Campus Garden Project
I founded the KU Campus Garden Project, a student organization at the University of Kansas that converted unused campus space into a community garden.
Founder
Education
The Field Museum
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-field-museum
While I was a graduate student based at the Field Museum of Natural History I volunteered in the Bird Division to help prepare and organize specimens for the collections.
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D0BAQGcTFpvBbZ4WA/company-logo_100_100/0/1520348365823?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=SZg-ov6bvUTdCVHzFyRFXdm9aerY5m90nDR4lLl3LYg
Collection preparation and care
Education
Ciudad
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ciudad-de-murcia
I made weekly house visits to mentor and tutor disadvantaged youth as a part of a City of Murcia social services program in Murcia, Spain.
Youth mentor and tutor
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As for the Digital Life Project at UMASS Amherst (http://digitallife3d.org/), we are pleased to release our latest FREE and open-access model (for…