News

Posted: Apr 05, 2022 - 12:00pm

UNM Biology PhD student, Chris McDaniels, was awarded a 2022 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Chris began his PhD with Dr. Lisa Barrow in Fall 2021, after completing his Bachelor's in Biology at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is currently a Graduate Curatorial Assistant in the MSB Division of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Chris's proposed research will investigate systematics and phylogeography in a widespread lizard species, the Six-lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineatus). He will use genome-wide sequencing and spatial analyses to determine the roles of environmental variation and geographic distance on population structure and lineage divergence. Chris also plans to mentor undergraduate students interested in herpetological research by teaching them field and laboratory skills and helping them develop their own projects.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recognizes outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM fields and provides three years of financial support for graduate students. Congratulations, Chris!


More info about the GRFP:  nsfgrfp.org

2022 Awardees:  https://www.research.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList