GGRP Project Members
Peter J. Fashing | Nga Nguyen | Jeffrey T. Kerby | Vivek V. Venkataraman | Laura M. Lee | Niina O. Nurmi | Tyler S. Barry | C. Barret Goodale | Ryan Burke | Sorrel Jones | Kathrine Stewart | Taylor Turner | Bryce Kellogg | Carrie Miller
Peter J. Fashing, Ph.D. (USA)
Peter is the co-founder and co-director of the Guassa Gelada Research Project (GGRP). Peter is currently an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Cal State Fullerton. His research interests include primate ecology, conservation, and behavior, as well as tropical ecosystem ecology and conservation. Peter earned his B.A. in Anthropology and Biology from the College of William & Mary in 1992 and received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University in 1999.
Nga Nguyen, Ph.D. (USA)
Nga is the co-founder and co-director of the Guassa Gelada Research Project (GGRP). Nga is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Cal State Fullerton. Her research interests include animal behavioral ecology, endocrinology and conservation. Nga earned her B.A. in Anthropology & Biology from Barnard College in 2000 and received her Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University in 2006.
Jeff co-managed the field project (along with Vivek) from May 2007-April 2008. Jeff graduated with degrees in Biology and Russian Studies from the University of Richmond in 2007. After returning from Guassa, Jeff interned for a year with Dr. Peter Leimgruber
at the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation GIS Lab in Front Royal, VA
. Currently, Jeff is pursuing his Ph.D. in the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Penn State University
with Dr. Eric Post
. Jeff’s research interests include spatial ecology, population modeling, and climate change. His Ph.D. research focuses on the influence of spatiotemporal variability in plant phenology on caribou and muskoxen populations in West Greenland. Jeff retains a keen interest in Afroalpine ecology and conservation and recently returned to Guassa to collaborate with Vivek Venkataraman on a study of mixed-species associations between Ethiopian wolves and geladas.
Vivek co-managed the field project (along with Jeff) from September 2007 to April 2008. Vivek graduated with degrees in Physics and Philosophy from the University of Chicago in June 2007 and interned at the Field Museum of Natural History before coming to Guassa. Currently, he is pursuing his Ph.D. in the Department of Biological Sciences at Dartmouth College
with Dr. Nathaniel Dominy
. Vivek is interested in the functional anatomy, evolutionary ecology, and biogeography of primates, especially Old World monkeys, apes, and humans. He retains a keen interest in Afroalpine ecology and conservation and recently returned to Guassa to collaborate with Jeff Kerby on a study of mixed-species associations between Ethiopian wolves and geladas.
Laura M. Lee
(USA)
Laura co-managed the field project (along with Niina) from May 2008-April 2009. Laura received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007. Before joining the GGRP, Laura worked as a research specialist in pathology at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center for a year. After directly observing several live births among the geladas at Guassa, Laura completed a M.A. in the Department of Anthropology at Cal State Fullerton in August 2011 focusing on birthing behavior in geladas and other primates. Laura recently submitted a manuscript building upon her M.A. thesis research for review by a peer-reviewed journal and is currently working for a veterinarian in Wisconsin and applying for veterinary school.
Niina O. Nurmi (Finland)
Niina co-managed the field project from May 2008-June 2009 (along with Laura). Niina received her B.Sc. in Biology (Honors in Zoology) from the University of Edinburgh in 2007. She recently completed her M.Sc. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Helsinki
. Her M.Sc. research focused on the lek dynamics and dispersal of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) males using non-invasive genetic methods. Niina is currently completing her Ph.D. at the University of Göttingen
and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
and is studying bonobo female reproductive endocrinology in D.R. Congo under the supervision of Dr. Oliver Schülke
and Dr. Gottfried Hohmann
Tyler S. Barry
(USA)
Along with Barret, Tyler co-managed the field project from June 2009-June 2010. Tyler graduated with a double major in Zoology and Religious Studies from North Carolina State University in May 2009. At Guassa, in addition to his research assistant duties, Tyler carried out an ambitious project to produce portraits of every individually recognized animal in the gelada population and wrote a book of science fiction in his spare time! He is currently a student of Dr. Michael Wilson
in the Ph.D. program in Anthropology at the University of Minnesota
.
C. Barret Goodale
(USA)
Along with Tyler, Barret co-managed the field project from June 2009-June 2010. He graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Indiana University in May 2009. In addition to countless hours studying geladas, Barret survived a swarm of millions of desert locusts, amassed Guassa’s most formidable insect collection (since donated to Addis Ababa University), and developed a keen interest in the plant community at Guassa. After his stay at Guassa, Barret recently spent a year as project manager for Dr. Marina Cords’s 30+-year study of blue monkey behavioral ecology at Kakamega Forest, Kenya
.
Ryan Burke
(Canada)
Along with Sorrel, Ryan co-managed the field project from June 2010-June 2011. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Ottawa in May 2010. While at Guassa, in addition to studying geladas, Ryan published the results of his undergraduate research on Canadian butterfly dispersal in the journal, Biodiversity and Conservation, and assisted a BBC film team with obtaining great video footage of geladas and Ethiopian wolves. After Guassa, Ryan was awarded a prestigious NSERC-fellowship and entered the M.Sc. program in Anthropology at the University of Toronto
with Dr. Shawn Lehman
. His thesis research focuses on the impact of forest fragmentation on mouse lemur behavior, ecology, and conservation.
Sorrel Jones
(Scotland)
Along with Ryan, Sorrel co-managed the field project from June 2010-June 2011. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of East Anglia in May 2010. While at Guassa, in addition to studying geladas, on her days off, Sorrel carried out a project she designed on giant lobelia pollination ecology. Since returning from Guassa, Sorrel has worked on analyzing her giant lobelia project data, helped lead biodiversity surveys in Gola Forest, Sierra Leone and bird surveys on Montserrat, and applied to several Ph.D. programs in Biology.
Kathrine Stewart
(Canada)
Along with Taylor, Kathrine co-managed the field project from June 2011 – June 2012. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Biology from Simon Fraser University in May 2011. During her year at Guassa, Kathrine developed a fascination with the disease ecology of the geladas’ parasitic swellings and a keen interest in pursuing further field research on primates. She is now in D.R. Congo habituating a new community of bonobos as part of Dr. Gottfried Hohmann
’s bonobo research project.
Taylor Turner
(USA)
Along with Kathrine, Taylor co-managed the field project from June 2011 to July 2012. He graduated with a B.S. in Biology with a focus on Chemistry and Ecology from University of Colorado Denver in May 2011. Throughout his undergraduate career Taylor gained experience researching howler monkeys and leatherback sea turtles in Costa Rica, whitebark pine ecosystems in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and the sugar pines of Crater Lake National Park. While at Guassa, he enjoyed tracking Ethiopian wolves, trail running, and photography. After returning from Guassa, Taylor recently began an internship with Dr. Peter Leimgruber
at the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation GIS Lab in Front Royal, VA
. Taylor intends to ultimately pursue graduate study in carnivore conservation and ecology, biomimicry, or wildlife filmmaking.
Bryce Kellogg
(USA)
Along with Carrie, Bryce has been co-managing the field project since June 2012. Bryce graduated with a B.S. in Forestry and Natural resources from University of California Berkeley in May 2010. Before coming to Guassa, Bryce worked as cowboy in the California White Mountains and developed an interest in alpine grazing ecology. After Guassa he intends to pursue graduate studies in Ecology.
Carrie Miller
(USA)
Along with Bryce, Carrie has been co-managing the field project since June 2012. Carrie graduated with a degree in Conservation Biology from SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry in May 2010, then gained additional field experience working with a group of Barbary macaques in Morocco. After her stay at Guassa, Carrie plans to pursue graduate studies in Anthropology or Animal Behavior.
