Check out the first day of our Paleobiology Field Trip to Florida!
Dream to Discover
Discover ancient and modern worlds through the study of mammals, past and present. Check out our research and contact us about joining or collaborating with our DREAM Team.
DREAM Team
Dr. Larisa R.G. DeSantis
Vertebrate Paleontologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. DeSantis earned degrees from the University of California, Berkeley (B.S.), Yale University (M.E.M.), and the University of Florida (Ph.D.). Through the study of fossil mammals, she determines how they responded to ancient climate change, potential reasons why they went extinct, and the long-term consequences of both climate change and large animal extinctions on a diversity of plants and animals—including predators and their prey.
DeSantis is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, conducts research on all continents except Antarctica, and the majority of her work is explicitly aimed at helping conservationists better understand ecosystems—past and present.
When DeSantis is not in the laboratory, field, or classroom, she is involved in scientific and public outreach in her local community and as the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) Distinguished Lecturer for North America and member-at-large of the Executive Committee. DeSantis has published more than 50 papers and book chapters, and her work has been featured on Curiosity Stream (Saber-tooth Brawl, Lucha Entre Dientes de Sable, Top Science Stories of 2019), National Geographic Wild (Future Cats), the Discovery Channel, radio shows, and has received global news coverage.
Learn more about her story: Outreach
E-mail: larisa.desantis@vanderbilt.edu
Elsa Mueller
Research Assistant in the DeSantis DREAM Lab and the Genetic Anthropology and Biocultural Studies Lab. Mueller recently graduated from Vanderbilt University where she majored in Biological Sciences and Anthropology (B.S., 2020). She is interested in physical anthropology and genetics research and excited about her shared appointment in the Department of Anthropology and Department of Biological Sciences.
E-mail: elsa.mueller@vanderbilt.edu
If you are interested in using the confocal microscope in the DeSantis DREAM lab, or need to schedule time on the microscope, please reach out to Elsa Mueller and CC Larisa DeSantis.
*Note, due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are unsure when visitor access will be possible. However, we are able to engage in some research collaborations.
Current DREAM Lab Members
Jay Pardo, M.S.
Jay is a first-generation PhD student in the Biological Sciences Department at Vanderbilt University who was born in Los Angeles, but whose family is Guatemalan. Jay joined Vanderbilt after they completed a BA in Geography and and M.S. at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), with the latter focused on using radioactive and stable isotopes, to reconstruct past environments of biological organisms. In the DREAM lab, Jay will be researching ecological and evolutionary responses to biotic and abiotic changes with a computational approach.
Sabrina Wang
Sabrina recently joined the lab in the Fall of 2021 after attending the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Research Fair. She is currently learning many of the labs techniques, including confocal microscopy.
Adi Kurre
Adi is a sophomore from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, majoring in Biological Sciences on the Pre-Dental track. Adi joined the DREAM lab in the fall of 2022, and is interested in using dental microwear and isotope analysis to decode the diet of ancient human groups. On campus, he is involved in club tennis, Vandy Karma, and Vanderbilt’s pre dental society. He enjoys singing Indian Classical music and trying new restaurants in his free time.
Chuyuan Xu
Chuyuan Xu is from Beijing, China. He is a rising Junior majoring in Communications of Science and Technology and Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. In his spare time, he enjoys watching theatre, films, musicals, and Japanese animations, listening to music, playing the Saxophone, collecting transformer toys, and playing volleyball and table tennis. After joining the lab in Spring of 2022, he is working on studying the ecology of modern bobcats.
Ashley Rogers
Ashley Rogers is a junior majoring in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and minoring in African American Diaspora Studies. She joined the DREAM Lab during the Fall 2021 semester. She is interested in studying the interconnectedness of various species, environments, and humans. She loves marine animals, and her project in the lab focuses on studying the dietary ecology of various marine mammal species. In her free time, she loves to read mystery books, listen to music, and spend time with family and friends. She plans to continue her education in the near future to obtain a PhD in Ecology.
Kirsten Koehler
Kirsten Koehler (she/they) joined the DREAM lab during the Spring of 2021 and has contributed to projects on Tyrannosaurs, Gomphotheres, and the connection between bovid diets and South African ecology. Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, Koehler is majoring in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, and she plans to become a career paleontologist, focusing on Theropod dinosaurs. Outside of lab, they enjoy creative and intellectual pursuits of all shapes and sizes, including dance, visual art, music, and creative writing.
Wonder Wei
Wonder Wei, majoring in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal biology, joined the DREAM lab in the spring of 2021. She has worked mainly on projects including tracking the diet of Canadian lynx during its boom and bust cycle. She has also contributed to other big cat projects involving American lions and saber-tooth cats. Her career goal is to become an environmental consultant after graduate school. Outside of the lab, she enjoys digital illustration, reading, cooking, and traveling.
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Sola Johnson
Sola is a Chemical Biology major at Vanderbilt from Franklin, TN. He joined the DREAM lab during the summer of 2021 where he worked mainly on the South Africa Springbok project. Currently, he is working on an isotope project that focuses on felids and canids from North America. His hobbies include hanging out with friends/family, playing guitar, or exploring the city of Nashville!
Ugonna Adugba
Ugonna Adugba is a senior majoring in Biological Sciences on a pre-med track and joined the Dream lab in the fall of 2021. Outside of lab, she is part of Vanderbilt’s African Student Union and is a learning assistant for Organic Chemistry. She also loves playing the piano and listening to music!
Ryan Hong
From Dallas, Texas, Ryan is a senior majoring in Medicine, Health, and Society. Ryan joined the lab as a junior after being introduced to paleontology during Dr. DeSantis’ biology class. Currently, he is working on a project that involves comparing dental microwear of manatees and dugongs. Outside of the lab, Ryan enjoys watching movies and playing basketball.
Kayla Prowell
Kayla Prowell is a senior pre-nursing student with a passion for psychology and politics. She loves biology and ecological research because she is passionate about animal conservation and animal health, and learning more about an animal's life through dietary reconstruction is the best way to do this! Kayla’s specialty in the lab is herbivores, but more specifically, arctic bovids such as musk oxen, moose, and even Santa's favorite, reindeer!
Dillon Davey
Dillon graduated from Vanderbilt University in the Spring of 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts, and triple majored in Biological Sciences, Anthropology, and Medicine, Health, and Society. His primary work was focused on analyzing dietary and morphological differences between mainland Alaskan grizzly bears and Kodiak Bears. He traveled to Fairbanks, AK in the Fall of 2021 and presented his work at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference in the Fall of 2022. Outside of the lab, Dillon spent much of his time performing with his a capella group, the Vanderbilt Melodores.
Featured DREAM Lab Alumni
Melissa caving, when not in the field or lab.
Dr. Melissa Pardi
Dr. Pardi is currently the Geology Curator at the Illinois State Museum. She received a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with DeSantis to examines long-term evolutionary responses of mammals and communities to environmental changes in aridity during the last 35,000 years in North America. Pardi integrated species distribution modeling with stable isotope analysis to gain a better understanding of species responses to late Pleistocene climate change and clarify potential reasons for their extinction. Prior to Vanderbilt, Pardi completed a postdoctoral research position at the U. of New Hampshire (Dr. Rebecca Rowe), a Ph.D. at the U. of New Mexico (Biology, Dr. Felisa Smith), and a M.S. at Penn State U. (Geology, Dr. Russel Graham).
Ryan with fossils of bizarre prehistoric creatures.
Ryan Haupt
Ryan Haupt completed his M.S. in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt (2012), studying the efficacy of dentin dental microwear for paleoecological studies of xenarthrans (sloths & armadillos). His thesis resulted in a publication in the Journal of Mammalogy. After graduating, he continued with studies of sloths at the University of Wyoming. Haupt is well known for his outreach endeavors, including his science pod-cast, Science… sort of (downloaded from all continents, including Antarctica).
Lindsey at the Waco Mammoth National Monument where she is the paleontologist.
Dr. Lindsey Yann
Dr. Yann is currently the Waco Mammoth National Monument Paleontologist where she interfaces with the public and researchers to improve understandings of a remarkable Late Pleistocene Mammoth fossil site. She received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (2012). Her dissertation on the stable isotopes of Lamini camelids in North America resulted in publications in Paleobiology, and Paleo3 (2014, 2016), and was funded by the Geological Society of America and Evolving Earth Foundation. After graduating from Vanderbilt, Yann was a Research Scientist at Oklahoma State University Health Sciences (Tulsa) for five years, where she ran their fossil preparation lab and paleontological research facilities.
Ansley in front of a polar bear mural at the University of the North, in Alaska while conducting research.
Ansley Petherick
Ansley Petherick has been an integral part of the DREAM team, both as an undergraduate student and as a full-time research assistant after graduation. She worked on clarifying the dietary ecology of polar bears in the artic, via the study of dental microwear on tooth enamel. Her first-author work is currently in submission, and she has earned authorship on several other papers that are in the works. Ansley has worked on everything from polar bears, grizzly bears, to kangaroos and orangutans. She is a co-author on an international collaboration led by Dr. Julien Louys (Griffith University). Ansley just started graduate school at Washington University under the advisement of Dr. Jonathan Losos.
Elizabeth working on dire wolves at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.
Elizabeth Hall
Elizabeth Hall joined our lab when a Biology major at Vanderbilt University. She has worked extensive with fossil canids (dogs), including dire wolves and coyotes from Rancho La Brea and other tar seeps like McKittrick Brea and Maricopa Brea. She presented her research at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in 2018 and has earned authorship on several papers that are in the works. When not in the lab, Hall enjoys producing musicals as part of the Vanderbilt group Off Broadway. Her interest in theatre has also brought her to England through Vanderbilt’s Maymester program.
James visiting with a wolverine at the Museum of the North, while conducting research.
James Baker
James Baker became a carnivore specialist while working with the DREAM team. He majored in Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, and his research brought him to Alaska where he studied wolverines. Living wolverines are difficult to study and rare in many parts of North America. Baker, designed his own research project aimed at understanding the modern ecology of wolverines and how their dietary behavior has changed over the past century. He also worked for the DREAM lab as a research assistant and helped examine American lions specimens (from Rancho La Brea) and other big cats (tigers, jaguars, etc.). Currently, Baker is enjoying working in national parks in the USA and being outside during the COVID-19 pandemic - when not preparing or presenting his research for publication.
Ellie while presenting her quokka research at CAVEPS in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Ellie Scholtz
Ellie Scholtz joined the DREAM lab as a freshman and was a long-time contributor to the DREAM lab. After graduating Vanderbilt with a major in Earth & Environmental Sciences and Communication Studies, she currently works for the Nature Conservancy - an organization she interned with while at Vanderbilt. In addition to earning authorship on several papers, that include the study of kangaroos to orangutans, her research focused on modern and fossil quokkas. Her work was published in the Journal of Zoology and presented at meetings in New Zealand (CAVEPS) and the USA (GSA, SVP). Also, see her J of Z blog post and associated press.
Matt playing musical instruments when not in the lab or field.
Matthew Martin
Matthew Martin joined the DREAM team when a major in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University. He enjoys being outside and playing instruments when not in the lab. When in the lab, he examined quolls, Australian marsupial carnivores that live throughout mainland Australia and Tasmania. His work focused on the examination of modern quolls and Tasmanian devils, examining the impact of local extirpation on the behavior of other species. He presented his work at the Geological Society of America and is currently preparing it for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Andrew in the field looking for evidence of our early evolution.
Andrew Schwartz
Andrew Schwartz joined the DREAM team after enrolling in Life through Time. As an Anthropology major, he had an interest in physical anthropology. His interests have brought him Tanzania and Wyoming, to study hominins and early primate. He worked with our team and Dr. Robert Scott (Rutgers U.) on a primate project. This collaboration was extremely fruitful and lead to Andrew’s current enrollment in Rutger’s Ph.D. program in the Department of Anthropology.
Carson examining koalas at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia.
Carson Hedberg
Carson Hedberg applied her passion for science, education, and the outdoors while at Vanderbilt U. When she was not leading outdoor adventure trips, she was busy in the lab working on a series of research projects that resulted in two peer-reviewed papers on koalas, Journal of Zoology (koala microwear) and Australian Journal of Zoology (koala stable isotopes). Her work on dental microwear of koalas, an animal that eats phytolith-lacking eucalyptus, provide concrete evidence that phytoliths are not necessary to create dental microwear features indicative of diet. Currently, Hedberg is a Ph.D. student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of New Mexico with Dr. Felisa Smith.
Brent working on grizzly bears at a Los Angeles Museum of Natural History facility.
Dr. D. Brent Jones
Brent Jones became fascinated with paleontology while a long-time (3.5 year) member of the DREAM Team. During his tenure at Vanderbilt he majored in both Biological Sciences and Earth & Environmental Sciences and researched the stable isotopes, dental microwear, and dental mesowear of herbivores from Rancho La Brea, through time. His Paleo3 paper demonstrates the need to use both isotopes and dental microwear to interpret dietary changes over time. Jones also improved dietary interpretations of the European cave bear in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Currently, he is a resident at Mount Sinai hospital) after graduating from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic).
Michael visiting NASA, following his curiosity to the ancient past, outer space, and beyond.
Michael Greshko
Michael Greshko arrived at Vanderbilt already having blogged for the New York Times and with an innate curiosity and ability to communicate science. After majoring in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, conducting research on dietary strategies of herbivores across the globe and through time as part of the DREAM Lab (he was a co-master mind of a study that began with Michael and evolved into a multi-year study that is currently in final stages of preparation for submission), and staring in student produced musical productions, he went on to complete a masters in science writing at MIT and currently works for National Geographic. Greshko’s articles have featured important scientific discoveries that range from the paleontological sciences to journeys to mars. The DREAM Team is eternally grateful for Greshko’s help with the DREAM Lab logo and acronym.
Amishi working on kangaroo specimens at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
Amishi Kumar
Amishi Kumar was a Earth & Environmental Sciences major and took advantage of all opportunities available to conduct research. She helped work on a study of modern western and eastern gray kangaroos and engaged in data collection in Melbourne Australia (with the DREAM team), while studying abroad. She also ventured to the University of Arkansas to work on their confocal (Connie), before our confocal (Dolly) arrived. Kumar continued her graduate studies at Indiana University and currently works for the Department of Energy in Washington D.C.
Sarah enjoying geology and hiking in her spare time.
Sarah Corapi
Sarah Corapi was a Communications major at Vanderbilt who just happened to take Ecology, Evolution, and Climates through Time (an introductory EES class DeSantis developed and taught). After that, she was hooked, and enrolled in Paleoecology and a graduate level Macroecology course. During those courses, she engaged in collaborative research projects that resulted in peer-reviewed publications in Paleobiology and Biology Letters. Corapi currently lives in Chicago and work for a marketing firm.
Lucas Loffredo working at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL.
Lucas Loffredo
Lucas Loffredo was the first undergraduate to join the DREAM team, back in 2010. When he wasn’t cheering on Vandy sports as the Vanderbilt mascot, he was in the lab working to improve dental mesowear techniques. As a double major in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences, he applied knowledge of both disciplines to improve understandings of the paleoecology of ancient horses and improve dental mesowear methods (a paper in Paleo3 that has served as the gold standard for dental mesowear papers, ever since) and was a co-author on a group project (Biology Letters). Currently, Loffredo is a Ph.D. student at Colombia University in Immunology (after working at Northwestern in their Immunology labs for several years, post graduation).
Anna Reside
Anna Reside joined the DREAM Lab as a high school student as part of the Vanderbilt School for Science and Math. Her research qualified her as a semi-finalist for the prestigious Siemens competition (one of only five in the state of Tennessee). After her freshman year at Yale, she returned over the summer to continue work on kangaroos and a separate project on Tasmanian devils, which she later presented at the Geological Society of America in 2018. She has earned co-authorship on a paper in preparation for submission, and is first author on a paper in review at the Journal of Mammalogy.
You!
Are you curious? Fascinated by science? Interested in doing research at Vanderbilt or remotely (during the COVID-19 pandemic)? We are always looking for highly motivated and inquisitive individuals. Minorities, people with disabilities, and all gender identities are encouraged to apply. Please contact Dr. DeSantis directly via email (larisa.desantis@vanderbilt.edu).
DREAM Team Past & Present
Nearly complete List of Trainees and/or Student Collaborators
Postdoctoral Scholar
Melissa Pardi (Ph.D. 2016, U. of New Mexico), NSF EAR Postdoctoral Scholar (2018-2020); Current Geology Curator at the Illinois State Museum
Graduate Students (Primary or Committee Advises and/or Collaborators)
Moyosore Ajayi (M.S. 2016, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Rachel Beavins (M.S. 2011, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Eva Biedron (M.S. 2018, Vanderbilt U., Earth & Environmental Sciences)
Stephanie Birnbaum (Ph.D. 2019, Vanderbilt U., Biological Sciences)
Colin Brooks (M.S. student, left the program, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Amanda Burtt (Ph.D. Student, Indiana U., Anthropology)
Jennifer Bradham (Ph.D. 2019, Vanderbilt U., Earth & Environmental Sciences)
Shelly Donohue (M.S. 2013, Vanderbilt U., Earth & Environmental Sciences)
William Frazier (M.S. 2013, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Ryan Haupt (M.S. 2012, Vanderbilt U., Earth & Environmental Sciences)
Nicholas Hermann (M.S. 2016, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Amanda Kaufman (M.S. 2013, Geosciences, East Tennessee State University)
Abigail Kelly (Ph.D. Student, U. of Cincinnati)
Cassandra (Beth) S. Koontz (Ph.D. 2015, Anthropology)
Judy Moss (M.L.A.S. 2010, Vanderbilt U., Liberal Arts)
Chris Myers, M.S. (M.S. 2014, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Willow Nguy (Ph.D. Student, U. of Nebraska, Earth Sciences)
Rachel Shumaker (M.S. 2017, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Greg Smith (Ph.D. 2019, Vanderbilt U., Earth & Environmental Sciences)
Brian Tanis (Ph.D. 2019, Oregon State University)
Beverly Walker (M.S. 2011, Earth and Environmental Sciences)
Amanda Winburn (Ph.D. student, left the program, Anthropology)
Mathew Velasco (Ph.D. awarded 2016, Anthropology)
Lindsey Yann (Ph.D. 2014, Vanderbilt U., Earth & Environmental Sciences/Environmental Engineering)
Undergraduate Students (Primary Research Advises and/or Collaborators)
Allana Anderson (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Spring 2017-Spring 2018)
James Baker (Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Spring 2018-Fall 2019)
Sarah Corapi (Communications, Fall 2010-Spring 2012)
Jonathan Crites (Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Fall 2014-Spring 2017)
Margaret Dorhout (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Summer 2018-Spring 2020)
Michael Greshko (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Fall 2012-Spring 2014)
Elizabeth Hall (Biological Sciences, Fall 2017-Spring 2019)
Carson Hedberg (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Fall 2014-Spring 2016)
Autumn Henderson (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Fall 2013-Spring 2015)
Aaron Hurst (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Fall 2013-Spring 2015)
Davis “Brent” Jones (Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology/Earth & Environmental Sciences, Spring 2013-Spring 2016; VUSRP Littlejohn Fellow)
Natalie Jordan (Public Policy, Spring 2011-Fall 2011, VUSRP Fellowship)
Amishi Kumar (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Fall 2011-Spring 2013)
Lucas Loffredo (Earth & Environmental Sciences/Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Fall 2010-Spring 2013)
J. Matthew Martin (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Spring 2018-Spring 2019)
Ansley Petherick (Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; VUSRP Littlejohn Fellow); Full time Research Assistant (June 2019-June 2020)
Ellen Reat (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Spring 2012-Spring 2013)
Jake Rubenstein (Biological Sciences, Spring 2015-Fall 2016)
Autumn Saunders (Biological Sciences, Spring 2017-Spring 2018)
Elinor Schultz (Earth & Environmental Sciences, Fall 2016-Spring 2019)
Andrew Schwartz (Anthropology, Spring of 2018-Fall 2018)
Stoycho Velkovsky (Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Spring 2011-Spring 2012)
Nikolai Veter (formerly Nick Lashinsky; Earth & Environmental Sciences/Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Spring 2012-Spring 2013; VUSRP Fellowship)
Jiayi Wang (Anthropology, Fall 2018-present)
High School Students Supervised
Claire Burgess (Hume-Fogg High School, Spring 2012-Spring 2013)
Samantha Fletcher (Ravenwood High School, Spring 2011-2012)
Tim Jiang (Ravenwood High School, Spring 2013-Spring 2014)
Jasmine Kelley (MLK High School, Spring 2011-Spring 2012; co-advised with T. Tung as lead advisor)
Anna Reside* (MLK High School, Spring 2016-Spring 2017; Siemens semifinalist 2017, one of five in Tennessee)
*Note, I also collaborated with Anna Reside at Vanderbilt University during the Summer of 2018 and currently, while she maintains enrollment at Yale University.
Molly Shae (Hillsboro High School, Spring 2015-Spring 2016; co-advised with T. Tung as lead advisor)
Maddie Wilson (Ravenwood High School, Summer 2013)
