Hello! I graduated with my Ph.D. in December of 2019 from the Uy lab in the Department of Biology at the University of Miami.
My dissertation research focused on the dynamics of secondary contact between two species of Zosterops White-eye birds in the Solomon Islands and on the evolutionary history of the Amazilia Hummingbird in Ecuador. Please click on the tabs above to find out more about my background, research, and teaching. |
Contact:
Sarah A. Cowles, Ph.D. scowles1(at)gmail.com |
2020 News
https://aukthevote.org/ August: My amazing friend Laura developed this bird-based Get Out the Vote initiative. Check it out--there are lots of ways to get involved! February: I officially accepted a job at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (close to Chicago where I am currently based) in Research Administration! Here, I'll be able to put all of the research and grant writing skills that I have learned in my Ph.D. to good use. 2019 News
December: I graduated with my Ph.D. in December of 2019, after successfully defending my dissertation in October. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. It's crazy to be done, but I'm ready to see what comes next! August: My Kolombangara White-eye photo was featured on the August cover of the journal Evolution, the issue that includes our White-eye paper! July: Our Zosterops Kolombangara White-eye paper is finally out in the journal Evolution! See it here: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13797 Also, a nice digest in Evolution was written about our paper. Read it here: https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13814 Jente Ottenburghs (Uppsala University), the author of the digest, also covered our paper on his Avian Hybrids blog: https://avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2019/08/ This blog is a great resource for learning more about avian hybridization! |
2018 News
February: I've returned from a two-week external course: the 2018 Workshop on Population and Speciation Genomics that was held in Cesky Krumlov, a beautiful town in the Czech Republic. The course happened at a perfect time, as I just got back my first GBS data set and am learning how to analyze it. Thank you to all the wonderful faculty, staff, and other participants for a great time and learning experience, and the UM Biology Department for the funding to attend the course!
February: I've returned from a two-week external course: the 2018 Workshop on Population and Speciation Genomics that was held in Cesky Krumlov, a beautiful town in the Czech Republic. The course happened at a perfect time, as I just got back my first GBS data set and am learning how to analyze it. Thank you to all the wonderful faculty, staff, and other participants for a great time and learning experience, and the UM Biology Department for the funding to attend the course!
2017 News
April: Grads in the Uy lab gave an overview of some of the research done in the lab for Ms. Seymour's eighth grade students visiting from Georgia-Jones Ayers Middle School. This lab tour was done as part of the Science Made Sensible Program at the University of Miami. Thanks to Nicole Kloosterman for helping to organize, and my labmates Winter Beckles, Erika Bueno, and Emily Powell for their help with the tour!
2016 News
June: I received the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society! This award will help fund my 2017 field season research looking at the dynamics of secondary contact in two species of White-eyes on Kolombangara Island.
June: I received the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society! This award will help fund my 2017 field season research looking at the dynamics of secondary contact in two species of White-eyes on Kolombangara Island.