Principal Investigator


Darren Irwin (email) (download CV)

Graduate Students

Kenny Askelson (PhD candidate, after completing his MSc here)

Rashika Ranasinghe (PhD candidate)

Caleigh Charlebois (MSc student)

Claudie Pageau (PhD student)

Finola Fogarty (MSc student)

Lab Alumni 

Postdoc alumni:

Dr. Armando Geraldes (now Research Scientist, UBC Botany)

Dr. Christine Grossen (postdoctoral researcher, 2013-2014; now Independent Group Leader, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Switzerland)

Dr. Miguel Alcaide (postdoctoral researcher, 2011-2014; now Senior Molecular Diagnostics Scientist, SAGA Diagnostics, Lund, Sweden)

Dr. Sampath Seneviratne (postdoctoral researcher, 2009-2012; now Professor, Department of Zoology & Environment Sciences, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka)

Dr. Alex Rubtsov (visiting postdoctoral researcher, 2005-2006; now Head of Research Department, State Darwin Museum, Moscow, Russia)

PhD alumni:

Libby Natola (PhD 2023, now Research Technician, Michael Smith Labs, UBC))

Dr. Saminda Fernando (PhD 2020; co-advised with Dr. Sampath Seneviratne; now
Senior Lecturer, The Open University of Sri Lanka)

Dr. Silu Wang (PhD 2019; now starting as Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo)

Dr. Kira Delmore (PhD 2015; now Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University)  **Received Faculty of Science Graduate Prize for Best PhD Dissertation in UBC Science, and Milsom Prize for Best PhD Dissertation in UBC Zoology

Dr. David Toews (PhD, 2014; now Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University)

Dr. Julie Lee-Yaw (PhD, 2013; now Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa)

Dr. Alan Brelsford (PhD, 2010; now Assistant Professor at Univ. of California Riverside)

Dr. Andrew Rush (graduate student, 2005-2007; completed PhD program at UC Berkeley; now Continuing Lecturer, UC Berkeley)

MSc alumni:

Ellen Nikelski (MSc, 2021; now in PhD program at University of Toronto Scarborough)

Maddie Ore (MSc, 2019; and now in PhD program at Cornell University)

Kenny Askelson (MSc, 2018; now doing a PhD–see above)

Alison Porter (MSc, 2015; now in law school at University of Ottawa)

Cheng Chen (MSc, 2017; co-advised by Jedediah Brodie and Darren Irwin)

Haley Kenyon (MSc, 2013; now PhD student at Queen’s Univ.)

Katie Kuker (MSc, 2008; co-advised by Lance Barrett-Lennard; now a Senior Consultant at Environmental Resources Management)

Dr. David Toews (MSc, 2007; went on to do PhD–see above)

BSc alumni

Quinn McCallum (NSERC USRA, 2019; Honours project, 2019-2021)

Annegret Liederbach (Honours project, 2016-2018; now MSc student at Kyoto University)

Else Mikkelsen (Honours Project, 2016-2018; now PhD student at University of Toronto Scarborough)

Stephanie Cavaghan

Michelle Chen (Honours project, 2012-2014)

Jamie Clarke

Alana Demko

Julian Heavyside

Haley Kenyon (Honours project, 2009-2010; continued as MSc student–see above)

Kristen Haakans

Mehdi Khadraoui

Nina Lobo

Christie Macdonald

Jacqueline Mackenzie

Matthew Osmond

Margarita Pacis

Thomas Pierce

Matt Robinson

Talia Sechley