Hall Of Fame

Deborah worked with Seth Newsome and Jake to understand the causes and consequences of ecological generalism in small mammal communities. As you can see from her photo, Deborah relishes test tubes, beakers, pipettes, and fume hoods--you know, real science. 

Francisco worked with Emiliano Donadio and Jake to understand state-dependent foraging by a large herbivore. He discovered that vicuñas were more apt to forage in risky areas (i.e., those with high puma activity) during periods of food limitation, thus providing evidence in support of McNamara and Houston's starvation-predation hypothesis.

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

Current position: MSc student, Karatina University

Janet Maclean earned her MSc with Jake and Roy Turkington through the University of British Columbia in 2012 and is now a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Janet’s work demonstrated a heretofore unappreciated and (dare we state) pretty darned cool phenomenon: seed and seedling consumption by rodents had effects comparable to those of large ungulates on the demography of a monodominant savanna tree. Chalk one up for the charismatic microfauna!

Jesse Alston jumped head first into a dissertation that was equal parts thermal physiology and macroecology, showcasing an admirable combination of creativity, courage, and insanity in tackling projects well outside our group’s proverbial wheelhouse. Upon completion of his PhD, he worked to become an animal movement whizbanger at the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding in Görlitz, Germany.

During his tenure at UW, Jesse worked tirelessly to raise awareness for several of life’s underappreciated gems, including (but certainly not limited to) Billy Joe Shaver live albums, delicioso homegrown rabbits, and outside trap pull blocks. And we would be remiss to not mention his clutch spotting a P. pardus outside the Aberdare Wandare gate, providing good clean fun for one and all.

Current position: Assistant Professor, University of Arizona

Jesse's website

Under the expert tutelage of Leo Khasoha, Kat Garrett explored links between the demographics and life histories of small mammals. Kat's spirit animal was (and remains) the rufous elephant shrew, a paragon of a model critter, and cute as the dickens to boot. Kat's research culminated in an award-winning talk at the 2023 International Mammalogical Congress in Anchorage, Alaska. She then honed her snow machine and backcountry chops as a tech for Lane Jeakle's work on marten in the Medicine Bow National Forest. 

Current position: MSc student, University of Montana

Marissa "AKA The Notorious MAD" Dyck was Rhiannon's padowan learner, managing UHURU in 2017. In this photo, she bathes in the radiant charisma of a recently-weaned rufous elephant shrew.

Current position: Postdoctoral fellow, University of Victoria

Megan "AKA Doogie, AKA Olivia Newton John Marianne" Dudenhoeffer worked to characterize seed predators of the invasive prickly-pear cactus in Laikipia. Here, she deftly wrangles a Hinde's bush rat like it was her job. She completed her MSc at the University of Manitoba, studying interactions between red and arctic fox.

Current position: Biological technician, US Forest Service

As an undergraduate at the University of Wyoming, I majored 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 received funding for my work through the Wyoming Research Scholars Program. I worked with Annabella Helman on nutrient hotspots in Kenya.

As the kids tweet these days, Rhiannon Jakopak "AKA RPJ, AKA Rocket Propelled Jakopak" oversaw UHURU like a boss in 2016. She conducted independent work with Jake on dispersal limitation as an alternative to Brown's resource breadth hypothesis. Rhiannon began her MSc at the University of Wyoming in 2017, working on dispersal and population genetics of mule deer. In this photo, she is handling one of two four-toed hedgehogs captured in UHURU, ever, with equal parts trepidation and exuberance.

Current position: Outreach Coordinator and Research Scientist, University of Wyoming's Haub School

I was born and raised in New Orleans, LA where I received my first bachelor's in biology from Southern University at New Orleans. Unlike most in the wildlife field, I did not grow up in the outdoors. Instead, I was a city kid that was always curious about the wonders of the natural world. During my time at UW, I had the opportunity to work on independent research linking skull morphometrics from museum and trapper-harvested specimens to sex and age ratios in marten populations. I love exploring national parks, hiking, snowshoeing, and skiing.

Saeideh Esmaeili truly is a rennaissance woman of southwest Asian mammals, working on goitered gazelle, Indian gazelle, sand cat, and Asiatic cheetah before completing a superb dissertation on the ecological and socio-economic correlates surrounding the migrations of a globally-endangered equid, the onager.

Channeling John Wayne (or Jeff Bridges, if you prefer), Saeideh personified true grit: she once navigated a financial transfer between five(!) countries to support the first GPS collaring effort of an ungulate in her home country of Iran. At a postdoc at Colorado State University, she now partners with the IUCN Equid Specialist Group, employing her talents in movement modeling to conserve equids across the globe.

Current position: Research Scientist, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University

Saeideh's website

Sarah Weiner was the latest in an illustrious succession of UHURU project managers. In a karmic twist of fate, she conducted independent research with Felicia Keesing, Jake's first mentor in Kenya. Side note: Sarah's threshold for pain stemming from pouched mouse bites is the stuff of legends.

Current position: Funding and Reporting Manager, African Parks Network

Scott Carpenter was the project manager extraordinnaire for the big-headed ant research, and conducted work on how invasion influences nest success of social weavers to boot. In this photo, he bows in deference to a curious silverback.

Current position: PhD student, Yale University

Stephen Kinyua was the inaugural project leader on the UHURU small-mammal sampling. Steve was advised by Jake and Geoff Wahungu at Moi University and now serves as a Project Manager for Wildlife Cybercrime for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Current position: Project Manager, International Fund for Animal Welfare