Jonathan P. Velotta, PhD, Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator
Jon is an evolutionary ecologist whose research merges physiological ecology, genomics, and population genetics. He is driven by a desire to understand how animals work and the mechanisms by which they adapt to their environment. He loves vertebrates and studies both fish and mammals.
Jon got his PhD from the University of Connecticut with Eric Schultz. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow with Zac Cheviron at the University of Montana before he arrived at DU in September 2020.
Peter Nimlos, PhD Candidate
Peter joined as a masters student in Fall 2021 and became a PhD student in 2023. He has an undergraduate background in physiology, and did an internship on canine behavior at Wolf Park. He currently enjoys researching the genomics and physiology of deer mice in high altitude environments. After graduating from DU, Peter plans on pursuing a research-based career in wildlife ecology. When not on campus, you can find him biking, hiking, or skiing in the Colorado mountains.
Lacey Conrad, PhD Candidate
Animals have been my passion since a very young age, and it was a surprise to no one when I decided to go to school for Zoology. My research interests are focused on the physiological differences between groups of animals and how they are shaped by their environments. Recently, I have become interested in Big Data pipelines and engineering. I grew up in Maryland, although my family is originally from North Carolina. I have collected a few degrees over the years, with the most recent being a Master’s in Data Science. Professionally, I worked in biotech for a few years as a histologist and radioimmunoassay process scientist. More recently, I spent several years working at museums. In my free time, I cook (I have a fondness for plant-based meals), long-distance run, play computer and tabletop games, and from time to time, I work a sewing machine. Reading is one of my most time-consuming hobbies, and I have been known to read history textbooks (apparently, that makes you weird).
Sarah Senese (she/her), PhD Student
From Katonah, NY, Sarah got her Bachelor’s in Organismal Biology & Ecology at Colorado College in 2023. Following her graduation, she was an intern at the Archbold Biological Station in Venus, FL with the Plant Ecology Program working on long-term rare, endemic plant demography projects. She has always had a love for population dynamics and genetics, physiology, and evolutionary biology. She is excited to be working on an NSF-funded project studying how physiology and population dynamics are influenced by parasites and environmental variation in deer mice of the Colorado Rockies. In her free time, Sarah loves to cook, trail run, road bike, drink pour-over coffee, and make Spotify playlists.
Emily Tarnawa, MS student
Emily grew up in Western Massachusetts where she attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; in 2019 she received her bachelor’s in environmental studies with a minor in biology. Her research background includes work on the plumage microbiomes of Dark-eyed Juncos and the physical characterization of their overwintering population. She has always been fascinated by physiology, adaptation, behavior, and the interactions between animals and their environment. Currently, she is a master’s student working on the alewife project and is determining the focus of her thesis. In her free time, she enjoys painting, working with ceramics, and hanging out with her cats.
Madison Tatro, Laboratory Technician
Madison, originally from Southern Vermont, earned her bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Conservation with a concentration in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. At UMass, she contributed to campus projects and assisted with research on the effects of winter ticks on moose populations in the Northeast. After graduating, she relocated to Denver, CO in 2024 to work as a field technician. Madison is now excited to return to the lab and expand her interests in genomics. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her two dogs, Ferb and Finn
Undergraduate researchers
Ukari Verner, DU Class of 2026
Henry Seebeck, DU Class of 2026
Lab Alumni!
Emma S. Glenn. Now a PhD student at Georgia Tech
Riley M. Corcoran, MS. Now a research technician at CU
Jose Ornelas, DU Class of 2025
Kelsie Hunnicutt, PhD. Now a postdoc at Stanford University. Website.
Maverick Bartholomew, DU class of 2024
Lisa Dar, DU class of 2024
Nicole Choi, DU Class of 2023
Jill Lewis, DU Class of 2022
Dutch, Lab Ambassador of Artificial Selection
Dutch has varied interests, including mud, sticks, fetching tennis balls, and sleeping. He is a mix of at least 8 breeds of dog and is himself an experiment in canine genetics and artificial selection. He is currently most devoted to his work on chasing small urban animals without actually catching up to them.
Velotta Lab 