PhD Student Biological Anthropology
She/Her/Hers
Matriculated September 2022
Research Interests
Gut Microbiome, Health, Nutrition, Genetics, Genomics, Primate Ecology and Evolution, South Africa.
About
Jessica is a PhD student in Biological Anthropology working under the advisement of Dr. Christopher Schmitt in the Sensory Morphology and Anthropological Genomics Lab. Her dissertation research focuses on comparing the gut microbiomes of vervet monkeys living in two wild locations in South Africa. She wants to learn how the environment shapes host-associated gut microbial communities. Jessica is particularly interested in how the gut microbiome responds to external factors such as diet and its potential contributions to host health. Prior to attending Boston University, Jessica completed her B.S. (Honors) in Neuroscience and Behavior at Florida Atlantic University.
Awards & Grants
- BU Center for Innovation in Social Science (CISS) Travel Awards. (Summer 2023).
- University of Washington Summer Institutes in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases Scholarship. (2023)
- Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Science Travel Award. (2023)
- Boston University Dean’s Fellowship. (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
Publications
- forthcoming