Rachel brings an energy and excitement to the lab! She is passionate about her research, her pet frog, and her dislike of cooking. She received her BS in Biological Sciences from Binghamton University (sounds familiar…) and is continuing the informal pipeline between Binghamton and Pitt by doing her graduate research in the Richards-Zawacki lab. Her research interests include frog habitat suitability and range, spatial analysis, and better understanding environmental factors between the two.
In her spare time Rachel enjoys hanging out and chatting with people. She has the unique ability to draw people out of their shells, make others feel comfortable, and listens with such grace and focus. She also, apparently, hates writing short biographies of herself so has left this one up to the lab manager.
While the focus of her PhD research is still somewhat opened ended it is of the opinion of this lab manager that whatever she does end up doing, she will be brilliant at it.
Contact Rachel at rbv4@pitt.edu