PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PROFESSOR DR. RYAN HECHINGER
Our group has three overarching research goals. First, to reveal the role of parasites in ecosystems. Second, to help find universal ecological and evolutionary truths. Third, to “keep it real”. Please see our research and publications pages for details on how we achieve these goals. Email Ryan.
STAFF
Oath of the Hechinger Lab Watch
MIA—LAB MANAGER: ANDREW TURNER
Andrew works on lots of things in the lab and field, and generally keeps lab operations flowing smoothly. He got his BS in Microbiology from UC Santa Barbara in 2013, but he’s been working with Dr. Hechinger and his ilk since time immemorial. Email Andrew.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
JAMES HEISER, PH.D STUDENT
James joined the lab in Fall 2024. He’s figuring out what type of ecological parasitology he’ll do for his dissertation. After getting his bachelor’s from the University of Tampa (Florida), James worked for a year with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s research institute on bay scallops, eastern oysters, and their parasites. Email James.
SASHA SYPHER, M.S. STUDENT
Sasha’s thesis work involves understanding the strength of parasite increased predation rates by trophically transmitted parasites. She got her BS in Marine Biology & Ecology from the University of Miami (Florida). Email Sasha.
RHOWAN HO, B.S-M.S. STUDENT
Rhowan is studying caste biology and reproductive dynamics in trematode colonies, with a secondary focus on Science Communication for informal audiences. Hailing from Malaysia, he got his BS from UCSD in Molecular and Cell Biology.
LAB INTERNS AND UNDERGRADS
VISITORS
DR. SUSSIE DALVIN
Sussie is on sabbatical here from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, Norway. She normally studies numerous aspects of the sea louse (a caligid copepod)-Atlantic salmon interaction.
PAST VISITORS
SIRI HELENE RIISE
Siri visited us, here and there, from Norway. She worked on the Euhaplorchis–Fundulus parasite project, focusing on how parasitism alters host physiology, and the anatomy and chemistry of the brain. She has a BS in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and a M.Sc in Physiology, both from the University of Oslo.
DR. IDA BEITNES JOHANSEN
Ida was a visiting Postdoc from The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Oslo, Norway. She was working on the Euhaplorchis–Fundulus parasite project, which was a collaborative project between NMBU and the Hechinger lab. She has a BS in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and a M.Sc in Physiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway and a Ph.D. from NMBU.
DR. EMLYN RESETARITS
While Emlyn was a PhD student at Rice, she worked in our lab examining how the geographic variation in invasion threat can drive allocation to the soldier caste in trematode colonies. She is now a professor at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York.
DR. MANUEL ROBERTO GARCIA-HUIDOBRO MORENO
Roberto was here to collaborate on his project, which examined the influence of temperature, ocean acidification, and parasitism on two molluscs along the coast of Chile. He was a research associate at the Centro de Investigación e Innovación para el Cambio Climático, and coordinator of the PhD program in Conservación y Gestión de la Biodiversidad at the Santo Tomas University, Chile. Email Roberto. Website.
MAJOR COLLABORATORS
DR. KELLY WEINERSMITH
Euhaplorchis–Fundulus parasite project. Email Kelly. Go to her website.
DR. OYVIND OVERLI
Euhaplorchis–Fundulus parasite project. Email Oyvind. Go to his website.
DR. ARMAND KURIS
Email Armand. Go to his website.
DR. KEVIN LAFFERTY
Email Kevin. Go to his website.
DR. MARK TORCHIN
Email Mark. Go to his website.