ANDREW (ANDY) ZINK, PH.D.
PRESIDENT OF DEEP SPRINGS COLLEGE
PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY (ON LEAVE)
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
Andrew Zink, Ph.D.
Andy completed a B.A. in both Philosophy and Biology at Bowdoin College, a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution at Cornell University, and a USDA postdoctoral fellowship at UC Davis. Andy uses mathematical models and both laboratory / field experiments to study the evolution of cooperation and conflict in social animals including treehoppers, earwigs, salamanders, birds, and wasps.
Master's students
Jessie James
Jessie received her undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz. Her M.S. thesis is focused on the ecology and phylogeography of bacterial gut microbiomes in Ensatina salamanders. (co-advised with Vance Vredenburg)
Priya Krakker
Priya received her undergraduate degree from Colorado State where she worked on salamander evolution. Her M.S. thesis will focus on the costs and benefits of filial (offspring) cannibalism in the maritime earwig.
Vivien Enriquez
Vivien’s M.S. thesis focused on behaviors of the Hawaiian bobtail squid in relation to the presence or absence of bacterial symbionts Vibrio fischeri. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA. (co-advised with Robyn Crook)
Jordan Greer
Jordan received his undergraduate degree from UC Riverside. For his M.S. thesis he focused on bacterial transmission via maternal care in the maritime earwig. Jordan is currently working in science communication for Cell Press. (co-advised Andrea Swei and Vance Vredenburg)
Shruti Chaukulkar
Shruti received an undergraduate degree from SFSU in Microbiology and conducted her M.S. thesis on the historical and contemporary patterns of fungal infection in California newts. She is currently working in the SF Bay Area for a biotechnology company. (co-advisor Vance Vredenburg)
Sofia Prado-Irwin
Sofia received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College. Her M.S. examined the population structure of Ensatina e. xanthoptica in relation to its microbial communities. Sofia is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolution at Harvard University. (co-advisor Vance Vredenburg)
Mae Cowgill
Mae received her undergraduate degree from UC Davis. For her M.S. she conducted field experiments on social behavior, fungal disease, and susceptibility in Batrachopseps luciae salamanders. Mae is currently working as a wildlife biologist for PG&E. (co-advised with Vance Vredenburg)
Alicia Bird
Alicia received her undergraduate degree from UCLA. For her M.S. she examined the salamander microbiomes across all of the various Ensatina eschscholtzii subspecies and their sympatric Batrachoseps. Alicia is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Behavioral Ecology at UC Davis. (co-advised with Vance Vredenburg)
Kendra Ritchie
Kendra received her undergraduate degree from UCSD. For her M.S. she conducted multiple experiments that investigated relationships between fungal disease and social behavior in Batrachoseps attenuatus. Kendra is working as a field biologist in Portland, OR. (co-advised with Vance Vredenburg)
Carla Sette
Carla received her B.S. from UCLA. Her M.S. thesis at SFSU focused on the relationship between disease history and nesting in Batrachoseps attenuatus salamanders. Carla is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. (co-advised with Vance Vredenburg)
Jon Young
Jon's M.S. thesis at SFSU focused on the disease history and nesting behaviors of Batrachoseps attenuatus salamanders in the city of San Francisco. Jon is now a staff zoologist for the Presidio Trust in the city of San Francisco. (co-advised with Vance Vredenburg)
Suzanne Pinar
Suzanne received her undergraduate degree from SFSU. Her M.S. thesis focused on associative learning in the maritime earwig in relation to spatial cues, topography, and landmarks. She's currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Entomology at Virginia Tech University.
Julie Miller
Julie received her B.S. from Brandeis University. Her M.S. thesis focused on both conspecific and filial egg cannibalism in maritime earwigs. Julie completed a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell and a postdoc at UCLA.
Nicole Munoz
Nicole received her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota. Her M.S. thesis at SFSU focused on the function of asymmetric forceps in male maritime earwigs. Nicole completed her Ph.D. in Animal Behavior at UCLA.
Carla DiGennaro
Carla received her undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada Los Vegas. Her M.S. thesis at SFSU focused on female choice of male traits in maritime earwigs. She is currently teaching biology at community colleges in the SF Bay Area.
Ivan de la Torre
Ivan received his B.S. from UCLA. His M.S. thesis at SFSU focused on the benefits of fililal egg cannibalism in maritime earwigs in response to predation risk. Ivan went on to complete his M.B.A. at Carnegie Mellon University.
Chris Quock
Chris received his undergraduate degree from SFSU and conducted his M.S. at SFSU on the effects of phorid fly parasitism on the foraging behavior of honey bees. Chris is currently a staff lecturer in our department. (co-advised with John Hafernik)
Ryan Tate
Ryan received his undergrad degree from UC Davis and conducted his M.S. thesis on models of error correction and multimodal signalling in animal communication. Ryan is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Behavioral Ecology at the University of Calgary.
Undergraduate Students
Insect Team
Michelle Davila, Emily Zepeda, Lena Rudolph, Cieleau Spearmon, Rachel Coombs, Allison Oochoa, Eleonora Bondareva, Adrienne Le, Ari Griffith, Hnin Hlaing, Jamie Slife, Mariana Perez, Monica Mora, Yasmin Saiyed, Melanie Celis, Leticia Mae Francis, Forest Downey, Jocelyn Lorneli, Diana Shen, Michoe Whitney, Julie Farias, Amaya Ayag, Andralyn Bryhtan-Aguilar, Elisa Lopez, Nisa Mostarshed, Crystal Lee, Paola Sanchez, Mustafa Sheikh, Michael Sanchez, Layla Zeidan, Michael Bigler, Adriel Valdez, Cole Jackson
Salamander Team
Wesley Sparagon, Helen Butler, Corinna Inmann, Maggie Montenegro, Mark Russell, Niquo Ceberio, Jason Helvey, Bo Heinz, Ivet Lolham, Karen Evans, Molli Bauke, Cecilia Frisardi, Farina Sheikh, Jennifer Goranson, Samantha Lee, Dana Alazzeh, Jodie Esaki, Kristin Charles, Laurence Henson, Sarah Contreras, Hasan Sulaeman, Kelly Hyde, Nate Estrada, Michael Gibson, Kurt Lutz, Stephenie Hunyh, Miriam Valenzuela, Rita Calbay, Jennifer Goranson, Viridiana Angel, Steve Sun, Michelle Vilanueva, Sarah Davis, Zeb Eskman, Shawn DeNarie, Genesis Vasconez, Jatin Kumar, Prakriti Subedi, Ed Xiao, Ashlynn Ybay, Michoe Whitney, Megan Yasaki, Diana Zhen, Josh Rimorin, Julie Farias, Monica Chee, Brianna Contaxis-Tucker, Susan Rabbe, Julianne Dino, Nick Tieu