I do not serve on graduate committees, but am always open to collaborations with researchers at all levels! If you are a current Rhodes student and like what you see, send me an email to set up a meeting to discuss potential projects in the lab!
I am an integrative biologist who cares more about the people I work with than the questions we develop or data we analyze. I have worked with teams to study how different groups of rattlesnakes are related to eachother, how different environmental factors effect the migration of a group of waterfall-climbing fishes, and to develop methods for automating the collection of shape data on 2D and 3D images of fishes. When not on campus you can find me playing outside with my partner and our pup. We particulary enjoy camping, paddling, and climbing rocks!
Stella is a biology major. She hopes to go to vet school after graduation, with the goal of working with exotic animals. Stella is currently looking at how skull shape differs among different breeds of dogs and also works on articulating our skeletal collection!
Cooper is a medical alert and mobility service dog. He was trained by a wonderful non for profit in Pennsylvania called Amazing Tails. He plays an integral role in maintaining a safe working environment for Stella, and is the cutest member of our team! For more information about service animals please visit the Amazing Tails website.
Jadyn is a biology/ computer scienece double major with a fodness for birds. She is currently helping to develop our protocols to use machine learning for processing animal movment data in the lab!
Yihan is a biology major/ computer science minor with a fondess for bees. She is currently using machine learning methods to study how swimming behavior changes with size in egg-producing guppy fishes!
El is a biology/ Chinese studies major and also loves bees. She is working to catalog our vertebrate teaching collection and is starting to use the collection for a morphometric study of salamanders!
Sarah Heckmann joined the lab in summer 2023 and is using machine learning to look at how habitat complexity impacts fish swimming behavior in guppy fish
Marissa Maheu, Alex Johnson, & Emily Pertuit joined the lab in Fall 2023 and are all interested in some of the microCT work we do in the lab
Gwen Wheeling & Brandon Leake - Effects of nitrtite on Endler's guppies (2023)
Abby Burtner, Daanya Siddiqui, Kurtis Alvarado, and Sanford Leake - Using computqtional anatomy to quantify phenotype in CRISPR-modified zebrafish (2021-2022)
Gill Griner - Using geometrics morphometrics on goby body shape and kinematics (2019-2021)
Nikole Schneider & AJ McKamy - In stream predator attack performance using 3D videography (2017- 2020)
Grace Forker - Relationships between escape performance and vertebral morphology in goby fishes (2017-2019)
Alex Rubin - Field observation of intraspecific and predatory attack behaviors of the Hawaiian sleeper fish, Eleotris sandwicensis (2014-2017)
Rachel Keeffe - Comparative climbing kinematics in climbing goby fishes of Réunion Island and the Hawaiian Islands (2016)
Thomas Offerle - Climbing kinematics in climbing goby fish (Sicyopterus lagocephalus) from Réunion Island (2015-2016)
The questions we ask as scientists are inspired by what we as humans have seen, read, and learned from those around us. This fact makes the process of science inherently biased by our lived experiences. Our lab attempts to combat biases by collaborating with people from different backgrounds and from different parts of the world, who do not share the same world view. We attempt to learn not only the natural history of the species we study, but also their cultural significance, and aim to collaborate with local experts when developing research questions and experiments. We aim to create an environment where people from all backgrounds, identities, and cultures feel safe and welcome to ask questions and work together to search for answers.
In addition to making a conscious effort to use language that is as inclusive as possible, we encourage lab members and collaborators to let let us know when intentions and their interpretation are not aligning. Another way we aim to create a safe space is through conversations about mental health. We are people that do science, not machines. Learning how to balance work, research, learning, and personal endeavors is part of the scientific process!
Kelly's job as a mentor is to remove any barrier I can for current lab members so that they can focus on their science. We have a lab agreement for all researchers on the team that explains expectations for everyone working in the lab.
The humans that work in the lab are more important the questions we ask, data we collect, or results we present. Working with the Shape and Scales Lab requires mutual respect for ALL members of the lab. This means:
1. Ask. If you have a question, ask.
2. Let others know what you need. Communication is the most important skill you need to learn in science. It is also how we ensure we are giving everyone the respect we strive for.
3. Value team members because of the different viewpoints they bring to the lab.
4. Listen and appreciate different perspectives. Especially when you do not agree.
5. Refer to every person in the lab the way they wish to be referred. If you make a mistake, apologize, and make a conscious effort to give more respect in the future.
6. Speak up. Let people know when someone does something that you feel excludes or discriminates against you or another human for any component of their identity.
7. Be flexible. There are many aspects of our lives we do not have control over, be willing to modify timelines or adjust expectations as life happens.
8. Give credit where credit is due. We are constantly building on the work of those who came before us and those we are currently collaborating with. The best way to build a good network is to ensure we link all of the ideas that have allowed the research we present to be done.
Using machine learning to process behavior and kinematic data. Some current questions for this project include how guppy swimming behavior and perfomrance changes with size and environment.
Form-function relationships in waterfall-climbing goby fishes. Here we are using microCT data and previously collected performance data to better understand how anatomy relates to ability in group of fishes.
Geometrics morphometrics of physical and digital natural history collections. Students are currently looking at shape changes across different groups of salamanders and dogs.
Using tools from computational anatomy our team of developmental biologists and morphologists are quantifing how bones change shape when different genes are modified using CRISPR methods.
We are working with the imageomics institute to better apply machine learning methods to questions about animal shape and locomotion.
We study how shape and environmental factors (such as how fast the stream water is moving) effecgt the migration patterbs of group of stream fish called gobies or as they are called in Hawaii, o'opu!
We are working with the Erell Institute to examine how body proportions and agility change as baby lizards become adults using desert horned lizards as a model system!
Courses @Rhodes College: comparative vertebrate morphology, biology 2, research in biology
Lab courses @Clemson University: vertebrate biology, human physiology, mammalogy, comparative vertebrate morphology, SlicerMorph
Workshops: SlicerMorph
Content Development: Clemson Campbell Museum of Natural History (website and content for interactive display of museum exhibits); Ask An Animal Scientist outreach website, 3D Anatomy Studios (worked with team to develop anatoy education kits.)
diamondk@rhodes.edu
Rhodes College
Department of Biology
2000 N. Parkway
Memphis, TN 38112