Our team

Dr. Jessica Gillung
Principal Investigator, Director Lyman Entomological Museum

I am an evolutionary biologist who integrates molecular, morphological, behavioural, and ecological data into a comparative phylogenetic framework to understand the insect Tree of Life. I aim to address key questions in the evolution of insect diversity: (1) What are the relationships within the insect Tree of Life? (2) Why are some lineages more diverse than others? (3) How have host-parasitoid and plant-insect interactions influenced trait and lineage diversification? By using phylogenomics to establish evolutionary hypotheses, my integrative approach seeks to understand how biotic and abiotic factors have shaped and influenced patterns of biodiversity.

Dr. Stéphanie Boucher
Curator of Entomology, Lyman Entomological Museum

Stéphanie's research focuses on the biodiversity, taxonomy and systematics of small phytophagous flies of the family Agromyzidae. These flies are commonly known as leaf-miner flies, as most species with known biology feed in between the epidermis of leaves in the larval stage, forming a feeding channel. She has spent many years studying the Nearctic fauna of Agromyzidae, and more recently the poorly known Neotropical fauna, which resulted in various taxonomic revisions, description of new species and new host plant records for the family.

Alice Assmar
PhD student

Alice works on the evolution, diversification, and biogeography of freshwater insects. For her PhD project, she is focusing on the macroevolution of spongillaflies (Neuroptera: Sisyridae), which are parasites of freshwater sponges as larvae. As many specialized freshwater feeders are being replaced by generalist species due to pollution and habitat fragmentation, understanding spongillafly evolution and distribution may help us understand how to protect freshwater biodiversity.

Heloisa Flores
PhD student – University of Sao Paulo, co-supervised with Dr. Dalton Amorim

Heloisa is interested in investigating the evolution of kleptoparasite-host interactions in animals integrating phylogenomics, morphology, biogeography and ecology. She is currently exploring the origin and diversification of kleptoparasitism in jackal flies (Milichiidae), an interesting model for understanding the correlation between specialized life histories and associated phenotypic adaptations across time and space.

Ruishen Zhang
MSc student

Ruishen is interested in museum science, especially in insect identification and morphological taxonomy. His MSc project focuses on the Canadian species of bot flies (Diptera: Oestridae). His research aims to develop tools to differentiate species using adult morphology, as well as to redescribe them using modern taxonomic tools. Besides insects, he is also passionate about amphibians and reptiles. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing and hiking.

Stéphanie Gagnon
MSc student – co-supervised with Dr. Chris Buddle

Stéphanie is a second-year master’s student. She has an Honours BSc in Environmental Biology with a specialization in Applied Ecology and a minor in Social Environment from McGill University. Stéphanie is interested in community ecology and plant-insect interactions. She is currently studying plant-pollinator relationships on floral strips surrounding cranberry farms in the Centre du Québec region. Her research aims to create an interaction network to uncover which wild pollinators and wildflowers occur in these disturbed systems and understand their mutual associations.

Marcela Zichinelli
MSc student – University of Sao Paulo, co-supervised with Dr. Dalton Amorim

Marcela is interested in insect systematics and evolutionary biology. Her research project focuses on understanding the origin and evolution of parasitoidy and parasitoid-host associations in Sciomyzidae (Diptera), integrating phylogenomics, behavioral and ecological data. Besides the research, she is also interested in extension projects which encourage girls from basic education to do science.

Alexa Brunet
MSc student

Alexa is interested in landscape ecology, plant-insect interactions, and evolutionary biology. Her research currently focuses on wild insect pollinators in Quebec’s cranberry farm region. She aims to characterize insect functional traits and determine functional diversity within landscapes. Besides that, she is a dedicated pianist and passionate about all things outdoors, particularly running, skiing, and canoe camping. You can often find her aimlessly wandering around the woods.

Samantha Dizon
MSc student

Sam is passionate about plant-insect interactions and insect biodiversity with a particular love for all things flies. Her research will focus on promoting wild insect pollinators and studying their taxonomic and functional diversity on Quebec cranberry farms. She is also interested in insect collection management and biodiversity outreach. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting insects for her own personal collection, cuddling with her dog, and baking.

Aimee Fraser
BSc student – Independent Research Project

Aimee is an undergraduate student majoring in Environmental Biology. Having spent much of her spare time hiking around British Columbia and the Yukon, she is invested in conservation and aims to help conserve the biodiversity that makes these places unique. She is fascinated by insect diversity, particularly of beetles, and is working on insects sampled from cranberry bogs over the summer.

Don Ran
BSc student – Research Assistant

Don is studying Environmental Biology with a specialization in Wildlife Biology. They love reptiles and marine life in addition to insects, but show extra love to Coleoptera, Halictidae, and Embioptera. They hope to work in an insectarium in the future, though any science museum would suffice, and they look forward to future projects with the Lyman team. In their spare time they enjoy going to museums, making art and accumulating plants in their living room.

Claire Boudard
BSc student – Research Assistant

Claire is an undergraduate student in Environmental Biology, specializing in Wildlife Biology. As a water enthusiast, she is interested in the relationship between aquatic environments and insects with water-dependent life cycles. Knowing the importance of well-maintained museum specimens for scientific education and research, she is excited to participate in collection management and specimen preservation. This work goes hand in hand with her goals of working in wildlife conservation and scientific education.

Jade Laurent—Le Bras
BSc student – Independent Research Project

Jade is studying Life Sciences at MacDonald Campus, specializing in Animal Biology. She is really interested in evolutionary biology and animal diversity, as well as microbiology. In the future, she hopes to be part of new projects at the Lyman lab. In her free time, she enjoys all outdoors activities, from hiking and running to camping.

Sophie Mathura
BSc student – Honours Project

Sophie is an undergraduate student majoring in Environmental Biology with a specialization in Wildlife Biology. She is interested in the impact of human activity on wildlife, especially insects. She is currently working on assessing the decline of bumble bee diversity and abundance by looking at insect collections and species observations. In her free time, she is a flutist and enjoys arts and crafts. She bugs (get it?) everyone she knows with fun facts and puns on animals and plants.