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Research Group

Ali Hassan (research technician, Mpala)

Ali has worked with our research group for over 10 years. He is the consummate natural historian, with encyclopedic knowledge of darned near every critter--flora and fauna--on the UHURU project. Ali is absolutely essential to keeping our projects in Laikipia running smoothly while we're across the pond.

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Annabella Helman (PhD student, UW)

Growing up visiting my parents' childhood homes in South Africa meant visiting the incredible wildlife in Pilanesberg National Park. The respect I gained for the interconnectedness of this ecosystem and effects of predators in that landscape cultivated my love for the natural world.

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Dedan Ngatia (PhD student, UW)

I work on a spectacular species! I would be offended if someone doesn’t love the African wild dogs. Although I’m not new to the Laikipia landscape, I only came to know of the wild dogs 10 years ago. Since then, my passion for conserving this species has never faded.

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Douglas Kamaru (PhD student, UW)

I was brought up in a village on the northern shores of Lake Naivasha; this gave me an opportunity to experience the magnificent of nature, including hippos and bird diversity. These ignited my love for wildlife.

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George Legrange (research technician, Mpala)

Another member of Team UHURU, George "the Multiplier" Legrange is the latest in an esteemed group of interns from the Mammalogy Section at the National Museums of Kenya.

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Gilbert Busienei (research technician, Mpala)

A master multitasker, Gilbert Busienei has worked with our research group as a fundi on small mammals and, more recently, big-headed ants, trees, and elephants. Here, on a chilly morning, he holds a four-toed hedgehog, one of the least-commonly sampled mammals in our UHURU plots.

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Jake Goheen

I am a lucky fellow because I get paid to do what I love to do. I am an academic generalist and I try hard to be a conservation biologist, community ecologist, and mammalogist simultaneously. I am interested in both applied issues and basic questions in ecology. Through my research and that of our group, I try to understand how species interactions can inform wildlife conservation and management.

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Lane Jeakle (MSc student, UW)

Going into undergrad, I had no idea that my passion for nature could become my career. I was fortunate to have mentors that pushed me to explore my interests and broaden my ecological background, cementing my love for wildlife. Participation in research projects and summer fieldwork led me to develop interests in carnivore ecology, habitat fragmentation, and non-invasive sampling techniques.

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Leo Khasoha (PhD student, UW)

I am interested in mechanisms and processes that maintain ecological patterns and species assemblages. Thus, my interests span population, community, evolutionary, and conservation ecology. My research utilizes molecular biology, field experiments, and long-term demographic datasets to illuminate the drivers of ecological community dynamics. I also partner with local organizations in Kenya to build the capacity of budding mammalogists through field courses, as well as promoting the appreciation of all wildlife and especially the small critters that are often ignored in favor of the charismatic megafauna.

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Olivia Poore (Undergraduate Wyoming Research Scholar, UW)

I am an undergraduate student at the University of Wyoming majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Environmental Systems Science, and Environment and Natural Resources. I love hiking, rock climbing, skiing, traveling, riding horses, and watching movies in my free time. I receive funding for my work through the Wyoming Research Scholars Program. I am starting to work with Annabella Helman on nutrient hotspots in Kenya.

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Simon Lima (research technician, Mpala)

Simon Lima (pictured here after a trying stint in Tsavo National Park) was an invaluable member of our research team between 2004 and 2015, and triumphantly returned in 2019 to assist with Dedan's work. He is a guru with GPS, wildlife captures, and radio-telemetry, and he can spot giraffes at over 500 km (pun intended, to be sure).

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