Current Members of the Rick Lab


Jessi Rick, phD

Assistant professor of Wildlife Conservation & Management, School of Natural Resources & the Environment; Faculty Member of the Genetics GIDP and Bio5 Institute

Jessi grew up in Minnesota, went to the University of Arizona for her undergraduate degree, received her master’s working with Jared Strasburg and Ron Moen at the University of Minnesota - Duluth in the Integrated Biosciences Program, and earned her Ph.D. in the Wagner Lab in the University of Wyoming’s Program in Ecology & Evolution. She then was mentored by Nina Overgaard Therkildsen as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University. She is now an Assistant Professor in the Wildlife Conservation and Management program in the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment. When she’s not doing science, she spends her time hiking, trail running, playing ultimate frisbee, mountain biking, and generally enjoying the outdoors with her dogs and family.

CV | GitHub | Google Scholar | Email


Beth Hasl

MS student, Genetics GIDP; Co-advised with Javan Bauder

Beth grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and received her BS in Biology from Northern Arizona University. She is pursuing her master’s in the Genetics GIDP program, and her thesis research focuses on the genetic diversity, population connectivity, and landscape genomics of lowland leopard frogs in the Tucson area.


Image is of PhD student Adam Ziegler on a boat in the ocean, holding a large fish

Adam Ziegler

PhD student, Genetics GIDP

Adam was born and raised in New Jersey before moving to Massachusetts to obtain bachelor’s degrees in biology and environmental studies at Stonehill College. He received his master’s degree working with Erik Sotka at the College of Charleston studying the population genetics of Diopatra cuprea. For his PhD, he is studying the influence of chromosomal inversions on genetic and phenotypic variation within and across Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia) populations. On the off chance he is not in the lab or working on code, he enjoys fly fishing in the Arizona lakes, cultivating his herb garden, or learning new recipes.

LinkedIn | ORCID | Email


Caleb Milford

MS Student, Natural Resources - Wildlife Conservation and Management; Co-advised with Dr. Javan Bauder


Oliver Fahrner

MS Student, Natural Resources - Wildlife Conservation and Management

Oliver was born and raised in San José, California, and earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara. After graduating, Oliver spent two years working in native habitat restoration at UCSB’s Cheadle Center, helping to create and monitor habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species. He then served in the Peace Corps as a Youth Development Volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 2022-2024. Oliver receives funding from the Peace Corps Coverdell Fellowship at the University of Arizona, and is partnering with the non-profit Sky Island Alliance through his Fellowship. He is studying the genetics of Desert sucker (Catostomus clarkia) and Sonora sucker (Catostomus insignis) populations from various streams across Arizona. This research examines potential hybridization, genetic divergence, and genetic diversity of sampled populations, to help inform management decisions for their conservation. In his free time, Oliver enjoys exploring the outdoors, most often while hiking, skiing, camping, or climbing.


Adina Nadeem Zuberi

Undergraduate, BS Natural Resources - Wildlife


Maddie Reel

Undergraduate, BS Natural Resources - Wildlife


Kamryn Ley

Undergraduate, BS Bioinformatics


Lab Alumni

Undergraduates

Lauren Dolan

Undergraduate, BS Biology (Graduated May 2024)

Erin Hess

Undergraduate, BS Natural Resources - Wildlife (Graduated May 2024)

Greta Gurdikian

Undergraduate, BS Molecular and Cellular Biology (Graduated May 2025)

Zach Leitzke

Undergraduate, BS Natural Resources - Wildlife

Postdocs

Lanie Galland, Phd

Postdoctoral researcher (October 2023-September 2024) — current position: Fisheries Geneticist, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

Personal website | Google Scholar | Contact