Tagged LMB

About Me

I am a PhD student at the University of California Davis in the Graduate Group in Ecology in the lab of Dr. Andy Sih. I study how host behavior influences risk of infection with parasites, and how parasites subsequently change host behavior and correlations between host phenotypic traits. I’m particularly interested in parasites that manipulate the phenotype of their hosts to increase the parasite’s likelihood of transmission.

E-mail me at: KLSmit (at) UCDavis (dot) edu

Education

  • Ph.D. expected 2014

    Ecology

    University of California, Davis

  • M.S. 2007

    Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology

    Bowling Green State University

  • B.S. 2004

    Biology, Honor's Program

    Bowling Green State University

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

  • 2013
    National Science Foundation Symposium Funding
    Awarded for "Meeting: SICB 2014 parasitic manipulation symposium, Austin, Texas 3-7 January 2014." Lead PI: Zen Faulkes
  • 2012
    American Society of Parasitologists Outstanding Student Paper Award
    Awarded for talk entitled "Two manipulative trematode parasites modify the physiology and behavior of California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis)"
  • 2012
    American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship
    Writing year fellowship awarded for "Parasites and personality: Interactions between behavior and physiology of hosts and their parasites".
  • 2012
    UCD Graduate Group in Ecology Block Grant Fellowship
    Two quarter fellowship.
  • 2012
    UCD and Humanities Graduate Student Research Grant
    Awarded for dissertation research.
  • 2011
    National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
    Awarded for "Dissertation research: Reciprocal interactions between host behaviors, steroid hormones, and parasites".
  • 2011
    Animal Behavior Society Student Research Grant
    Awarded for "Parasites and personality: Behavioral and hormonal interactions between California killifish and their behaviorally manipulative trematode parasites".
  • 2011
    SciFund Challenge Round 1
    My crowdfunding campaign ("Zombie Fish") raised $5,000 to buy cameras to record behavioral assays.
  • 2011
    UCD Department of Environmental Science and Policy Travel Grant
    Awarded to present at the Animal Behavior Society conference.
  • 2009
    Natural Reserve System Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant
    Awarded to conduct research at the University of California Natural Reserve System, UCSB Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve.
  • 2009
    UCD Peter J. Shields and Henry A. Jastro Research Fellowship
    Awarded for dissertation research.
  • 2008
    UCD Department of Environmental Science and Policy Travel Grant
    Awarded to present at the Animal Behavior Society conference.
  • 2007
    UCD Graduate Group in Ecology Block Grant Fellowship
    Four quarter block grant fellowship.