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.

Dr. Morgan Jackson
Postdoctoral Researcher

Morgan's research, both as a graduate student at the University of Guelph and now as a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University, has focused on Diptera systematics and natural history, and the intersections of biodiversity science with social media and digital technologies. He is continually exploring the unknowns of Canadian biodiversity, and helping to enable others to do so for themselves through advocacy, education, and outreach.

Dr. Catherine Scott
Postdoctoral Researcher (Buddle Lab)

Catherine is a behavioural ecologist, arachnologist, and natural historian whose MSc and PhD research focused on the communication and chemical ecology of black widow spiders. As an NSERC postdoc she will focus on the foraging ecology of the candy-striped spider—an introduced predator that hunts primarily on flowering plants—and its impact on pollinator abundance and behaviour in Canada. A former arachnophobe, she is passionate about shifting perceptions of spiders and other arachnids through science communication, education, and outreach activities.

Dr. Vinicius S. Ferreira
Postdoctoral Researcher (Lyman Lab and Canadian Museum of Nature)

Vinicius is an evolutionary biologist whose main interests are focused on integrating new methods of exploring natural history museum resources for biodiversity and conservation driven projects. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, where he employs a phylogenomic approach to investigate the repeated evolution of paedomorphosis in beetles. Vinicius is an upcoming (Summer 2023) Beaty Postdoctoral Fellow in a collaborative project between the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Lyman Lab, where he will integrate collections-based research, NGS, community science and AI to produce automated tools to identify the endangered species of fireflies of North America.

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.

Catherine Woo-Durand
MSc student – co-supervised with Dr. Jade Savage

Cat is passionate about sustainability, wildlife conservation and anything insects! More specifically, she is interested in investigating anthropogenic impacts on native species and the natural environment. This coming fall, she will be starting on her MSc project studying insect pollinators from Quebec cranberry farms. She is also very interested in the inner-workings of museum collections and likes to create her own insect displays with pin mounted specimens. When she is not distracted by insects, she also enjoys birding, mushroom hunting, hiking and camping.

Ruishen Zhang
MSc student – co-supervised with Dr. Morgan Jackson

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 interested in community ecology and plant-insect interactions. She is currently investigating the effect of anthropogenic disturbances from the Dempster Highway on both the arctic tundra and the arthropod community in the Yukon, Canada. Other than insects, Stéphanie is also very passionate about plants, and in her spare time, she loves hiking and camping.

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.

Savannah Burroughs
BSc student – Independent Research Project

Savannah is currently an undergraduate student in Environmental Biology with a specialization in wildlife biology. She has a passion for conservation, sustainability, and everything outdoors. She will be beginning an independent project pertaining to pollinators found in cranberry bogs of Québec.

Kireni Sparks-Ngenge
BSc student – Research Assistant

Kireni is studying Environmental Biology with a specialization in Applied Ecology. As a person of mixed heritage from Canada and an Indigenous community in Papua New Guinea, she often find herself working at the intersection between Western science and Indigenous issues. Her current Honours project involves collecting insects in Vanuatu and classifying them using Western scientific taxonomy, while also conducting activities to highlight how Indigenous people have their own taxonomic systems in their vernacular languages. In this way, the project aspires to uphold diverse ways of knowing and naming species.

Claire Dominici - Tiranti
BSc student – Independent Research Project

Claire is an Environment major doing an independent study project that looks at several aspects of myriapodology. She is looking at identifying specimens collected from the Morgan Arboretum during Field Entomology as well as curating the myriapod collection in the Lyman Museum and conducting a general overview of myriapodology in Canada. In her spare time, hiking and photography are her preferred activities.

Aimee Fraser
BSc student – Research Assistant

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.

Jade Laurent--Le Bras
BSc student – Volunteer

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.

Aris Cristofaro
CÉGEP student – Research Internship

Aris is a CÉGEP science student—heading into university—interested in molecular biology, cell division, and the functions of organisms. They also love fungi and have grown some themself. They are also very interested in viruses and parasites. They would like to improve the health of all living organisms.