People
Seth did his undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester with early research efforts focused on systematics and ecology of reptiles. He then went on to do a PhD at the University of British Columbia with Dolph Schluter focused on the ecological consequences of rapid evolution in threespine stickleback. After completing his thesis he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania with Paul Schmidt. He was briefly a Banting Postdoctoral fellow with John Fryxell at the University of Guelph before starting as an assistant professor at WSU in 2021. Seth’s favorite type of science is large manipulative experiments. Outside of work he enjoys skiing, hiking, cooking, and playing with his kids.
Rene is both a Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow and NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow working both with Seth Rudman and John Fryxell at the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph. Rene completed his PhD with Paul Sibley at the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph.
Rene is an ecotoxicologist and his research aims to advance our understanding of human-induced environmental change on ecological and evolutionary processes in wildlife. Specifically, his research is focused on pollution-driven adaptation, or “evolutionary ecotoxicology”, which seeks to understand the role of adaptation in organisms that enable populations to thrive in anthropogenically-stressed ecosystems. Rene combines field and laboratory experiments, quantitative methods, and interdisciplinary collaborations to advance the application of toxicological and -omics data to inform ecosystem-based management. Outside of work Rene enjoys drawing, community service, and spending time with family.
Katie Clare, MSc.
PhD Student
Katie is starting as a PhD student Rudman Lab in 2022. She did her undergraduate degree in Biology at Saginaw Valley State University. She then did a masters at Texas Christian University with Matthew Hale using comparative genomic tools to study natural populations of rainbow trout. She returned to SVSU as a biology instructor before starting a her PhD at WSU. Katie enjoys cooking and spending time outside, especially near water.