Principal Investigator
Aide Macias-Muñoz
Assistant Professor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
UC Santa Cruz
amacia16@ucsc.edu
Kelso N. Cochran, she/her
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 with heartily refined wet lab skills and managing experience. I’d always dreamed of returning to academia and in March 2024 that became a reality when Aide gave me the opportunity to join the Macias-Muñoz lab as a researcher.
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.
Eva Katcher
Undergraduate Researcher
Research interests: Eva is interested in signal cascades for light detection and the behavioral responses that correspond to vision in cnidarians.
She enjoys rock climbing, birding, and cooking.
Maia Everhart, she/her
Undergraduate Researcher
Research Interests: Maia is interested in ecological field research involving all things biology!
Her hobbies include hiking, painting, and playing volleyball.
Kevin Ton
Undergraduate Researcher
Hi, my name is Kevin, and I’m a 4th-year MCD bio major. I’m currently researching opsin genes, which serve as a universal photoreceptor in all animals. Specifically, I’m studying their expression in Hydra Vulgaris to gain insight into variations across different strains
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.