Postdoctoral fellows
Elska KaczmarekPh.D. Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University (2023)
B.S. Marine Science, Biology, and Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami (2017) Elska was a postdoc in the lab from 2023 - 2025. She left the lab in summer 2025 to pursue her PRFB in fish air breathing. She is interested in biomechanics and how it informs broader questions about function, adaptation, and evolution. Her research in the lab explored how the biomechanics, physiology, and performance of bottle-fed infants are influenced by bottle nipple structure. Specifically, she sought to answer whether we can improve infant feeding outcomes by designing a bottle nipple that mimics the ducted structure of most mammalian breast tissue. During her PhD, she studied the biomechanics of air breathing and suction feeding in fish. She was particularly interested in how the air-breathing behaviors of extant fishes can shed light on deep evolutionary transformations of behavior, function, and anatomy. |
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Undergraduate Students
Skyler WallaceSkyler Graduated with her B.S. in Biology and Chemistry in May 2024, and continued in the lab while she pursued her B.S.N. at NAU, which she finished in August, 2025. She played a key role in evaluating the impact of a biomimetic nipple on term infant feeding physiology.
Ani SmithAni graduated in May 2025, and is currently a PhD student in Susan Williams lab at University of Ohio, where she will study feeding biomechanics. She won a prestigious Keim Undergraduate Research Award, as well as presented at several local, regional, and national conferences, and submitted a first authored paper in her time in the lab.
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Maressa KennedyMaressa graduated in December 2024, and stuck around to work in the lab through summer 2025. In her time in the lab, she won several awards, submitted a first authored paper, as well as gave several presentations at local, regional, and national conferences. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Speech and Hearing Sciences at University of Arizona. Outside of her studies, she enjoys playing soccer, cooking, and hiking.
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Lindsey SandovalLindsey joined the lab as a sophomore undergraduate student at NAU pursuing a degree in biomedical sciences, and I will attend dental school after graduation. She joined the lab to learn about new things regarding research in order to widen my skill set, specifically becoming familiarized to X-rays or working closely with the anatomical features of the animal models. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with friends, shopping, and going to the gym! AlexAnn VelascoAlexAnn graduated in May 2024 in Biomedical Sciences at Northern Arizona University and in the Honors program. I plan to pursue a PhD after graduating from NAU. I became interested in swallowing mechanisms after my Tata had a stroke and needed to consume thickened liquids.
Alexane Marie FauveauI am an exchange student from the University of Bordeaux in France. I am currently doing my senior year as an undergraduate student in biology at Northern Arizona University. My main interests are in neurosciences, and understanding how our body works. After my bachelor, I will go back to France to finish my master in neurosciences, and I plan to pursue with a PhD to become a researcher.
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