Juliette Rubin
I am broadly interested in exploring the evolution of elaborate traits in animals using both proximate (mechanistic) and ultimate (evolutionary) lenses.
I use an integrative approach, combining methods from behavioral ecology, sensory biology, developmental biology, and evolutionary biology.
I am an NSF and Tony Coates Postdoctoral Fellow at The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
I am currently co-advised by Drs. Owen McMillan and Rachel Page
Please check out my google scholar page
Email: juliettejrubin@gmail.com
Current Mentees
Leo Camino (left) and Yanileth Lopez-Tocoaman (right) joined the iridescence project as STRI interns and are now fellows! Their work has spanned the gamut from rearing hundreds of Morpho pupae to measuring iridescence and conducting color analyses. Currently they are both focused on the developmental plasticity of iridescence in response to thermal environment.
Pushkar Wagh (left) and Greta Oto (right) are current interns investigating the role of iridescence in arthropod thermoregulation.
Jasmine Watkins is co-advised with Dr. Ummat Somjee. Her project focuses on the biomechanical implications of leg loss in matador bugs to better understand the evolutionary underpinnings of hindleg elaboration in Coreidae.
Additional Team Members and Support
Our projects would not be possible without the incredible support and hard work of many people from multiple labs across the globe.
Butterfly Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics Research Lab, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute:
Owen McMillan (Principle Investigator)
Rémi Mauxion (Research Manager)
Butterfly rearing team: Daniela Hernandez Cuadra, Makuri Jastes, John Nguyen, Paola Angélica Soto Mendez, Abby Williams
Smithsonian Bat Lab, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute:
Rachel Page (Principle Investigator)
Gregg Cohen (Research Manager)
Jorge Medina-Madrid (Research technician)
Kawahara Lab, University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity:
Akito Kawahara (Principle Investigator)
Phylogenomics collaborators: Paul Masonick, David Plotkin
Collections collaborators: Sajan KC, Anisha Sapkota