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
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.
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
Zach Leitzke
Undergraduate, BS Natural Resources - Wildlife
Zach is pursuing his undergraduate degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis and Wildlife Conservation and Management. When he is not studying at the University of Arizona, he enjoys spending his summers back at home in Chicago. He is passionate about all things music related, including singing with his a cappella group, Amplified. Outside of the group, he enjoys collecting special edition and colored vinyl records from his favorite artists. In the future, Zach hopes to combine his love of wildlife and education into his career and drive future innovations in the field. In his time in the Rick Lab, he is excited to collaborate and develop his skills while working on this exciting research.
Adina Nadeem Zuberi
Undergraduate, BS Natural Resources - Wildlife
Lab Alumni
Lauren Dolan
Undergraduate, BS Biology (Graduated May 2024)
Lauren is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, studying Biology with an emphasis in Biomedical Sciences— and she is also a Tucson local. In her free time she enjoys exploring new places, racing sailboats with her family, dancing with some local groups and snuggling up with her two cats. She is interested in most types of research and has experience working with a field group studying costal fish populations in Hawaii, as well as working in some other research labs on campus. She is most excited about getting more involved in genetic research and working more directly with mentors and professors in her time in the Rick Lab.
Erin Hess
Undergraduate, BS Natural Resources - Wildlife (Graduated May 2024)
Greta Gurdikian
Undergraduate, BS Molecular and Cellular Biology
Lanie Galland, Phd
Postdoctoral researcher (October 2023-September 2024) — current position: Fisheries Geneticist, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Lanie was born and raised in North Georgia, attending the University of Georgia for her undergraduate degree in microbiology. She attended Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) for her master's in Biological Sciences, where she studied the effect of chromosome size on the rate of meiotic recombination with advisor Ken Hillers. From there, she earned her Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology working with Tom Parchman at the University of Nevada, Reno. Broadly, she is interested in how historical, geographical, and environmental factors shape landscape genetic structure in multiple systems, and its applied significance. Outside of research, she finds joy in trail running, white water boating, fly fishing, cooking, growing plants, and a plethora of other outdoor activities!