I am currently Interim Director of Collections Operations at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, a center for research and education focused on the comparative relationships of animal life. The MCZ's collections are comprised of approximately 21-million extant and fossil invertebrate and vertebrate specimens, which are integral to research and teaching within Harvard University and are a resource to the larger scientific community. As Assistant Director of Collections Operations, I managed the museum's Biosafety Level 2 facilities, including the Cryogenic Collections and Vertebrate Preparation Lab, and provided oversight of the museum's collections transactions to ensure legality, integrity, and safety.
I am interested in the development of best practices for natural history collections and am involved in disseminating information regarding the growing number of domestic and international legal issues are confronting biodiversity collections. I am currently working as member of the Steering Committee of the Biodiversity Collections Network (https://bcon.aibs.org/) to build a broader community vision for the future of biodiversity collections.
My research is focused on the biodiversity, biogeography, phylogenetics and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. This work integrates a broad range of techniques, including fieldwork, taxonomy, and molecular systematics, to interpret patterns of speciation and diversity. I am particularly interested in the phylogenetic diversification of African amphibians and use of molecular tools to define species boundaries. Most of my work to date has been involved in investigating two widespread frog families, puddle frogs (Phrynobatrachidae) and grass frogs (Ptychadenidae), to understand the complex diversification patterns of these lineages across sub-Saharan Africa. I am also the creator and administrator of African Amphibians, an online community-driven resource for information on the amphibians of Africa. To learn more about this project, visit http://africanamphibians.myspecies.info.