Principal Investigator
Aide Macias-Muñoz (she/her/ella)
Assistant Professor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
UC Santa Cruz
amacia16@ucsc.edu
Kelso Cochran (she/her/they)
Lab Researcher
I attended UCSC from 2016-’20 where I discovered my love for research, botany and phylogenetics working as an undergrad in the Kay & Sinervo labs. After school, I spent 4 years working at a leading analytical cannabis laboratory where I started as an assistant doing paperwork and left as the head of the Microbiology department. In the lab, Kelso is studying Hydra gametogenesis and breeding. In my free time I like to flex the creative side of my brain through painting, sculpting, writing & sewing. My muse is my glamorously ancient calico cat, Chihiro.
Ayanna Mays
Graduate Student
Ayanna completed her BS in Marine Biology and Ecology from University of Miami. After undergrad at University of Miami, my research has focused on developmental biology and how organisms adapt to rapidly changing conditions. At UCSC, I study regeneration in Cnidarians. I’m interested in the role Transposable Elements may play in the process!
I like to crochet, dance, and attempt complicated recipes.
Rachel Parsons
Graduate Student
My interest in sensory biology has led me from working on coral at UC San Diego, to exploring the flamboyant cuttlefish’s locomotion at San Francisco State University to now investigating vision in Cnidarians. I discovered a love for teaching and SciComm and am starting a project creating a portfolio of resources and information geared toward making science more accessible. Outside of my research, I can be found dancing salsa or bachata, SCUBA diving, or being creative with paints and anything colorful.
Maia Everhart (she/her)
Undergraduate Researcher
Maia is a fourth-year undergrad majoring in Biology B.A. who is a part of the Macias-Munoz lab researching Hydra phototransduction and gene evolution. She enjoys both the field and wet lab environments of research and hopes to expand her growing interest in gene evolution throughout her academic career. Outside of her research, she can be found painting, hiking, and reading about astronomy.
Scarlett Ortega Velez
Undergraduate Researcher
Hi, my name is Scarlett Ortega Velez! I am a transfer student from Los Angeles City College where I got my associate degree in Natural Science and Mathematics, as well as Liberal Arts and Humanities. My declared major here at UC Santa Cruz is Environmental Studies and Economics. Through Cultivamos Excelencia Research Scholars I am working in Doctor Macias-Muñoz’s lab where I am learning, understanding, and collecting data regarding the Genetics of gamete production in Hydra.
Jo DeMarino
Undergraduate Researcher
Hi my name is Jo DeMartino and I’m a second year Marine Biology student helping with animal care in the Macias-Munoz lab. I have a special interest in Cnidarian which led me to this position. In my free time I like tide pooling, hiking, and crafting!
Lab Alumni:
Eva Katcher
Undergraduate Researcher
Kevin Ton
Undergraduate Researcher
