Dr. Kieran Samuk

Principal Investigator

Kieran is an Assistant Professor in the EEOB Department at UC Riverside.

He is primarily interested in evolutionary genetics, particularly the interaction between recombination and the forces of evolution.

Dr. Maria Akopyan

Postdoc, 2025 – Present

Maria is an NSF PRFB postdoc co-advised by Dr. Ellie Armstrong. She applies genomic resources to reconstruct demographic histories, characterize recombination landscapes and structural variation, and investigate the genomic architecture of adaptation.

Dr. Natalia Rivera-Rincon

Postdoc, 2025 – Present

Natalia is interested in how recombination and chromosomal inversions shape genome architecture and facilitate adaptation. She is particularly fascinated by the role of structural variation in mediating responses to environmental change and climatic gradients.

Gina Lucas

PhD Student, 2022 – Present

Gina is interested in evolutionary biology and comparative genomics. Her current project is focused on experimental evolution of chromosomal inversions.

Alexandra Sumarli

PhD Student, 2022 – Present

Prior to joining the lab, Alex worked at the USGS and completed an MSc at SDSU working on the phylogenomics of chuckwallas.

Mikhail Plaza

PhD Student, 2023 – Present

Mikhail is interested in genome evolution and its applications in plant breeding and adaptation. Before joining the lab, he earned an MSc from CSUN.

Noah Cecilio

Undergraduate, 2023 – Present

Noah is an undergraduate in the Biology program at UCR. His project is focused on evaluating the extent to which experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster have undergone local adaptation.

Rachel Ford-Espinoza

Undergraduate, 2024 – Present

Rachel is a fourth year undergraduate pursuing a degree in biology. She is assisting in the stickleback and fruit fly research in this lab.

Ly Tran

Undergraduate, 2024 – Present

Ly (they/any) is an undergraduate in the Neuroscience program at UCR. They are a RISE summer fellow and a NIH MARC-U Scholar. Their project is focused on understanding the role of chromosomal inversions in adaptation, and vertebrate brain development.

Adithi Sesani

Undergraduate, 2024 – Present

Adithi is an undergraduate in the Neuroscience program at UCR. She is currently working on experimental studies of Drosophila adaptation.

Emme Tran

Undergraduate, 2025 – Present

Emme is an undergraduate in the Neuroscience program at UCR. She is assisting in projects related to the three spine stickleback.

Kimberly Mondragon-Arroyo

Undergraduate, 2025 – Present

Kimberly is an undergraduate in the Biology program at UCR. She is assisting with research focused on the three-spine stickleback.