We are dedicated to promoting an inclusive and safe environment in our lab. We support all the members of our team in realizing their full potential, and we value the creativity and productivity that comes from the meeting of diverse minds. Read more here
Amanda Kyle Gibson (Mandy) is an associate professor in Biology. She got her PhD in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior from Indiana University and worked as an NIH FIRST postdoctoral fellow at Emory University. Mandy studies the evolutionary ecology of host-parasite interactions. She has a particular fondness for coevolution, the maintenance of sex and genetic diversity, the evolution of the host defense cascade, nematodes, polyphagy, and biological control. amandakgibson at virginia dot edu, (434) 243-2626. CV
Caroline Amoroso is a postdoc in the lab, coadvised by Mandy Gibson and Janis Antonovics. Caroline received her B.S. from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Anthropology from Duke University. She started at UVA in Spring 2020 and joined the Gibson Lab in Summer 2021. Caroline uses theoretical and experimental approaches to study the evolution and ecology of parasite avoidance. Currently an NIH K99 Pathways to Independence fellow. cra2z at virginia dot edu, website
Irish Amundson is a PhD student in the Biology Department. She received her B.A. in Biology from Amherst College in 2019. She joined the lab in the Fall of 2021, where she is continuing her study of the evolution of host-parasite interactions, particularly the dynamics of disease transmission. Currently an NSF GRFP fellow. eym8um at virginia dot edu
Tessa Batterton is a research technician in the lab. She received her B.S. in Animal and Poultry Science from Virginia Tech, where she also explored honeybee waggle dance communication. She joined the lab in 2023 and is interested in host/parasite relationships and behavior. mpf8fj at virginia dot edu
Schubin Chon is an undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences planning on majoring in Biology. Schubin joined the lab in January of 2022 and is extremely interested in studying coevolution in host/parasite interactions! stn4bx at virginia dot edu
Kendall Guddy is an undergraduate majoring in Environmental Science and Philosophy. She joined the Gibson Lab in the spring of 2025 and is interested in species interactions, with a focus on underground ecological systems. She is excited to explore host-parasite relationships through research with the lab. jfw8vw at virginia dot edu
Juliana Jiranek is a PhD student in the Biology Department. She received her B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University, where she wrote her senior thesis on the role of climate in the epidemiological dynamics of plant pathogens. She joined the Gibson Lab in Fall 2020 and is currently using experimental and theoretical methods to explore how environmental quality drives the evolution of resistance to parasites. jaj3sr at virginia dot edu
Sophia Kuzminski is an undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Biology and minoring in French. She joined the Gibson Lab in Fall 2024 and is interested in studying social behavior, species interactions, and conservation. nen3ec at virginia dot edu
Michael Leonard is a PhD student in the Biology Department. He earned his B.S. in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2024, where he studied predator-prey interactions and how freshwater salinization shapes phenotypic plasticity in amphibians. Michael joined the Gibson Lab in the Fall of 2025 and is broadly interested in how parasites shape host behavior, with a focus on the evolution of parasite-driven dispersal. sup6cm at virginia dot edu
Linyao Peng is a postdoctoral research associate. She received her Ph.D. in Biology from Drexel University studying within-host symbiont interactions. She joined the lab in Summer 2022 and will be working on the context-dependent genetic basis of parasite resistance. She is particularly interested in combining molecular techniques with experimental evolution to study the genotype x genotype association between hosts and parasites under environmental contexts. kqq8ng at virginia dot edu
Abbey Ramirez is a PhD Student in the biology department. She got her M.S. at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma where she studied migratory patterns and capture efficiency of the northern saw-whet owl. She joined the lab in the Summer of 2021 and is interested in studying host/parasite relationships – particularly coevolution. Currently an NSF NRT EXPAND fellow. jsx6hx at virginia dot edu
Erin Scott is a Ph.D. student in the Biology Department, co-advised by Mandy Gibson and Butch Brodie. She received her B.A. in Biology from Davidson College in 2020. She joined the lab Fall of 2022, and she is interested in how coevolution between arthropods and their gut microbiomes influences habitat choice. Currently an NSF GRFP fellow. avg6kb at virginia dot edu
photo credit: Jannatul Pramanik
Lab alumni
Postdocs
Fabiane Mundim – fall 2019 to summer 2022. Assistant Professor at Utah State University
Technicians
Sarah Hesse – fall 2020 to summer 2023. In law school at the Georgia State College of Law
Anne Janisch – winter 2019 to summer 2022; graduate student in Cytology at the Mayo Clinic
Graduate students
Louis Bubrig – summer 2020 to summer 2025. Currently the director of the UVA Media Core
Undergraduates
Simran Budhwar– spring 2019 to spring 2020.
Neha Channamraju – fall 2023 to December 2024. Started as an NIH IRTA at NIDDK
Victoria Feist – summer 2021 to summer 2023. Lab Technician at UPenn, started graduate school at Harvard Med in 2025
Won Hon – summer 2024
Ean Huang – fall 2023-spring 2025. Applying to medical school!
Ehsan Ghani – fall 2024-spring 2025. Applying to medical school!
Andreas Kamali – spring 2022 to spring 2024. Started at GW School of Medicine in 2025.
Emma Kirschke – fall 2019 to spring 2021. At the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine starting fall 2021
Adianna Lockwood-Shabat – spring 2022-spring 2025. Field work in Montana!
Donna McNeill – summer 2019
Ally Motter – spring 2020 to spring 2022. NIH IRTA at the National Human Genome Research Institute. Started graduate school at VCU Biomedical Sciences Program.
Anna Nguyen – spring 2019 to spring 2021. At the UCSF School of Dentistry starting fall 2021
Akosua Odei – fall 2020 to December 2021. Off to medical school in 2023!
Jai Singh – fall 2021 to fall 2022.
Leila Shepard – fall 2021 to summer 2023. Started medical school at UVA in 2025.
Talia Sol – spring 2022 through spring 2023. Pursuing a Masters in Speech Pathology and running her small business Sol Thrift!
Sarah Talley – summer 2022 through spring 2024. Off to a masters in Public Health at Virginia Commonwealth University!
Emily Tillet – summer 2019 to spring 2021. At Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health starting fall 2021
Sophie Wong – summer 2019 to spring 2022. Started her PhD at the University of Alabama in 2023
the Gibson Lab 