Former Graduate Students
1970s |
1980s |
1990s |
2000s |
M.S., 1974, "Toxoplasma Antibodies in Wild and Domiciled Animals from Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and the Philippines." |
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Al in 1975, seated an at electron microscope. Al in 1975, with Dr. David Landau at an SEM. Al in 1977 at a parasitology meeting. |
Address: Update: Al was my first graduate student and, thus, holds a special place in my heart and life. Just before Al completed his M.S. (1974), a colleague of mine from Brigham Young University, Provo UT (Dr. Ferron Anderson), called me to ask if I had any promising graduate students to work on Echinococcus on a new NIH grant he was just awarded. I told him about Al, and within a couple of months Al was in Provo. He completed his Ph.D. there (1982) and went to the University of Notre Dame (1982-84) as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow to work on helminth (nematodes, cestodes) physiology and developmental biology. Then, instead of taking an academic position, he entered the pharmaceutical industry, where he has been very productive, and has never looked back. But he has been around the block! He started with SDS Biotech Corp./Ricerca, Inc., in Painesville, OH, as Senior Research Parasitologists (1984-87) in new product research and development of potential parasiticides. In 1987, he was hired by Fermenta Animal Health Company, Kansas City, MO, as Product Development Specialist, and worked his way up the corporate ladder to Manager and then Director of Pet Insecticides and Anthelminthics, a position he held through 1995. But in industry, companies come and go. From 1995-97, Al was Product Manager of Parasiticide Evaluation for Rhone Merieux, Inc., Rhone Poulenc Ag Co., in Research Triangle Park, NC. But the journey continued. He then moved to Phoenix Scientific, Inc., in St. Joseph, MO, which then became IVX Animal Health, Inc. There he served as Manager of Clinical Projects in Pharmaceutical Development (2002-07), and then became Director of Clinical Development in 2007. IVX Animal Health was put up for sale by TEVA in January 2008. In an effort to control his own destiny, and by an unusual twist of fate, Al accepted a position at Pfizer, Inc. to conduct parasiticide discovery working for George Conder, my second graduate student! “Funny how things work out in life,” Al said recently. He started his industry career in Ohio and now it appears he will complete it in Michigan with George, who has been his life-long friend and colleague since they both worked in my lab in the early 1970s. |
M.S., 1975, "The Effects of Heat and Cobalt-60-radiation on the Oocysts of Eimeria nieschulzi." | ||
Don Duszynski, George and Marilyn Scott George and Al Marchiondo (front row, left) at a meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference of Parasitologists in 1980. |
George in August, 1975 at Argonne National Lab
George relaxing at a party, 1977 |
Address: Personal: Kathy (wife), Ty (son), Lucy (daughter). Update: After completing his M.S. in 1975, George also went to work with Ferron Anderson at BYU, Provo UT, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1979. He then did postdoctoral work with Jeff Williams at Michigan State University (1979-81), East Lansing, MI, before accepting a position (1981) as a Scientist I with Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, MI. While at Upjohn, George progressed through the ranks to Scientist IV and became an Adjunct Professor at UTEP, where he was able to do collaborative work with Jack Bristol and Lil Mayberry. In 1994, Pfizer, Inc. “stole” George from Upjohn, hiring him as Clinical Project Manager of their Animal Health Product Development group, in Groton, CT. But George is always moving forward and, again, he moved swiftly through the ranks and in 2007, assumed the position of Director & Therapeutic Area Head of anti-parasitic drugs for Pfizer, but at their office in Kalamazoo, MI. In a sense, he returned home. Over the years he has continued a highly productive professional career as a parasitologist (see his CV, above) and has won many honors in the pharmaceutical industry, including: Fred Kagan Lead Finding Award, The Upjohn Company, 1988; W.E. Upjohn Award, The Upjohn Company, 1993; and the Central Research Achievement Award, Pfizer Inc., 1997. He also has served as Vice President (1992), President Elect (1993), President (1994), and Immediate Past President (1995) of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists. |
M.S., 1978, "Immunization and Infection of Rhesus Monkeys with Plasmodium knowlesi: Evaluation of Assays for Immunity." | ||
Bob, 2005 |
Heather, Ann & Bob, Miyajima, Japan Bob, Heather &Ann, Kinkakuji, Japan |
Address: |
M.S, 1979, "Besnoitia, Eimeria and Isospora spp. from Rodents in New Mexico." | |
John, the cowboy, about 1977 John and Patty at their home in Ft. Collins, 1978 Patty, John and John's hippie advisor |
Address: Update as of February, 2007: |
M.S., 1981, "Development of Eimeria funduli Infecting Killifish." | ||
Students in Don Duszynski's lab attend a SWAP meeting at Lake Texoma, April, 1980: Steve, Dean Mattison (undergraduate), Janice Moore (Ph.D., 1981), Dave Reduker (Ph.D., 1984), Cynthia Nixon (undergraduate). Steve with Dr. K. Molnar, Budapest, Hungary, |
Steve with Dr. D. Soshkin and other Russian colleagues, Moscow, Russia, 1999. Steve in Budapest, early 1990s;
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Update through February 2008: |
M.S., 1981, "Assessing the Susceptibility of Plasmodium falcipiarum to Pyrimethamine–Sulfadoxine by in vitro Microtechnique." | ||
Gary Eastham Gary with his daughter, Sarada, 1981 |
Gary and wife, Barbara, in Hawaii, 2007
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Address: Update as of February 2008: |
Ph.D., 1981, "The Ecology of the Acanthocephalan (Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus) in the Isopod (Armadillidium vulgare) and the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)." | ||
Janice as a graduate student at SWAP, 1980 Janice after graduation, 1981 |
Janice, Don and Lee Couch (left) in Placitas, NM, Janice with her dogs, Christmas 2002 |
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Ph.D. with distinction, 1984, "Cricetid Rodents and their Eimerian Parasites: Coevolution or Random Colonization?" | ||
Young Dave in the early days
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Dave (center) in the rain at the Shiun Country Club, |
May 4, 1955–October 25, 1990
(Left to Right). Dwight Moore, Dave, Toshi II |
M.S., 1984, "Coccidiosis of Sandhill Cranes Wintering in New Mexico." | ||
Young Brent as a graduate student, about 1983 Brent at SWAP, 1983 |
Brent and friend at a party, 1984 Brent's "Going to Vet School" cake, 1984 |
Brent is a veterinarian who owns his own clinic. Address: His wife, Namcy Edsall, has her own business as a hair stylist.
Brent and wife, Nancy, 2007 |
M.S., 1986, "Turbellarians (Family Umagillidae) from Caribbean Urchins with a Review of Two Closely Related Genera, Syndisyrinx and Syndesmis." | ||
Lynn (2nd from the left, bottom row)
Lynn at her microscope, ca. 1990 |
Lynn with two Mayan children in Belize, Lynn and Wade Wilson, dancing on the table, |
Lynn was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on August 14, 1951, and died from pancreatic cancer on Saturday, April 2, 2005 at age 53. She is survived by her husband, Gene, and two children Jessica, 22, and Justin, 17.
After earning her nursing degree (R.N.), she and Gene moved to Albuquerque in 1973, where she served as a staff nurse in the intensive care unit of Presbyterian Hospital, from 1973–79. She earned her B.S. from UNM (1982) with a major in Biology and a minor in Art. After taking my parasitology class, in 1983 she began in my graduate program and completed her M.S. in 1986. Shortly thereafter, she began a nearly 20-year collaboration with E. Sam Loker, playing a key role in organizing and designing many of the projects undertaken as part of his research program. In 1999, while continuing her research-related duties, she entered the Ph.D. program in our department and was awarded her Ph.D. with distinction in 2004. During her productive scientific career, Lynn authored or co-authored 22 scientific papers or book chapters and was a strong intellectual contributor to the NIH-funded projects that supported the Loker lab. She also was an accomplished artist; from 1982 to 2003, she produced 191 scientific drawings that appeared in 37 publications, including eight different journals, three monographs and two book chapters, involving 45 different authors. The breadth of her work was amazing: parasites of sea urchins, systematics of coccidian parasites of mammals, biology of digenetic trematodes and freshwater snails, and the biology of snail-transmitted schistosome parasites that infect humans throughout much of the tropical regions of Africa, Asia and South America. She was known for an utterly unflappable and nurturing demeanor, and for steady and persistent effort that paid off with surprising and novel scientific dividends. She had a happy, full and complex life with the many people she shared it with. Everyone who knew her, including most of my graduate students, are proud to say that we had the opportunity to be a part of her life. Winston Chruchill must have been thinking of someone like Lynn when he said, "We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." That was Lynn Hertel.
Lynn (center) with Lee Couch and Tim Lowrey (left) |
M.S., 1988, "Mast Cell Degranulation and Neutrophil Chemotaxis in Rats Infected with Eimeria nieschulzi." | ||
Young Todd after a long evening
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Todd and his wife, Viola, and daughters, Maddison Todd and his family, March, 2008 |
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Ph.D., 1988, "Phyletic Coevolution Between Nematode Parasites and Their Rodent Hosts in Bolivia." |
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Young Scott, ca. 1982 A mature Scott, working in Placitas, 2007 Lee Couch, Sue Ann and Scott, December 2007 |
Sue Ann and Grant, 2004 Hudson, 2004
Grant, January 2008 |
Address: Home: 1740 Pawnee St. I plucked Scott from Gerald Schmidt's lab in Greeley CO, where he earned his M.S. in Zoology/Parasitology in 1983. What a find! After completing his Ph.D. with me in 1989, Scott stayed on for another year as a postdoc to run my lab, while I was still chair of Biology. From 1990–94, he was Assistant Professor and Curator of Nematology, at UC–Davis. In 1995, Scott took on his current position as Curator of Parasitology of the Manter lab at the University of Nebraska, where he progressed rapidly through the ranks to Professor. While at Nebraska, Scott has established a world-class program in parasite systematics and phylogenetics. He has published about 90 papers in parasitology and has received more than $2 million dollars in state and federal contracts and grants to support his research and that of his students. In the summer of 2008, he will be in Mongolia, along with students and faculty from three other universities, collecting vertebrates and their parasites. Scott and his wife, Sue Ann, have four children: Clark (8 mo. in 2008), Grant (3.5 years), Hudson (18) and Teal (21).
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M.S., 1988, "Enzyme Variation of Eimeria arizonensis from Peromyscus truei and P. boylii." | |
Work Address: Southern New Mexico Cancer Center 150 Roadrunner Parkway Las Cruces, NM 88011 Tel.: 505-556-8600 Toll-free Tel.: 800-747-9635 Fax: 505-556-8700 constancewash@myway.com constance.wash@usoncology.com Home: 5262 Spirit Hunter Las Cruces, NM 88011 Tel.: 505-552-2808 After completing her M.S. in parasitology, Connie completed her M.D. at UNM in 1990, her internship in 1991, and a residency in 1993 in internal medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Tulsa, OK. In 1996, she completed a fellowship in hematology/medical oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. In addition to her full-time position at the Southern NM Cancer Center, Connie is on the Board of Directors for the Mesilla Valey Hospice, and is a medical staff member at Memorial Medical Center and Mountain View Regional Hospital in Las Curces, where she serves on the P&T Committees of both centers. |
M.S. with distinction, 1992, "Tissue Processing for Electron Microscopy (Instructional Video) and An Electron Microscope Study of the Ovarian Wall of the Seastar, Astropecten armatus." | |
After completing her M.S. with distinction in 1992, Angela worked a couple more years in Biology as our Research Technologist IV, running our electron microscopy lab (both TEM and SEM). Support for the facility, however, was in constant decline, so, after some soul-searching, she decided to devote all of her time to a home-based business she had started in 1990, AWINDOWAY, constructing insulating window shades. She specializes in custom-made insulating Roman shades, warm window insulating shades, and does cellular, pleated, vertical and blind window shades. |
Ph.D., 1994, "Parasite Ecology of the Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys merriami." | |
Mike on a field trip to Puerto Penasco, Mike at our home in Placitas, 1999 |
Mike was born in Rome, NY, on March 9, 1962. He completed his B.S. in Biology (1984) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IPU), Indiana, PA. He stayed at IPU to work as their animal room supervisor and as a Graduate Assistant in Animal Biology (1985-86) and then was awarded a Teaching Assistantship (1987-88) to teach General Biology and Applied Entomology and Zoonoses. While working on his master's degree, he was awarded an Instructorship to teach six (6!) courses each semester. He completed his M.S. at IPU in 1989. In the Fall of 1988 and spring of 1989, Michael and I corresponded about the possibility of his coming to work in my lab. I first met Mike in the summer of 1989 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, held in Vancouver, British Columbia that year. We were all staying on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus, and Lee, several colleagues and I saw this young man walking across campus toward us: white shirt, thin black tie, gigantic smile flashing pearly white teeth. We thought he was a Mormon missionary about to sell us a Bible; it was Mike Patrick. He presented a paper covering the work he had done on his master's thesis and did a great job. I knew then I had made a good decision to have him work on his Ph.D. in my lab, which he began in August, 1989. When we met at UBC, Michael was single. By the time he came to UNM, he was in love and planning a wedding. During his tenure at UNM, Mike not only worked as an R.A. (1990-91) or a T.A. (1989-90, 1991-94), but he also taught half-time at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational (TVI) campus (now Central New Mexico Community College [CNM]) to earn enough money to support his growing family. He completed all requirements for his Ph.D. in December, 1994. After leaving UNM, he taught for a couple years at Seton Hill College, Greensburg, PA, but later accepted his dream job as an Assistant Professor of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, PA. Unfortunately, Michael died unexpectedly on March 10, 2000. As with others before him, he had a full and complex life with the many people he shared it with. All of my students who overlapped with Michael in the lab, and others who met him professionally, liked him a lot and, to a person, have reiterated how glad they are to have been a part of his life. Mike had about a dozen scientific publications in parasitology prior to his untimely death, and has been a co-author on another half-dozen (on which he had been working with others) since then. He is survived by his wife Rebecca (Becky), his son Matthew, and his daughter Anna. We still miss ya, Mike! |
Ph.D. with distinction, 1996, "Temporal Patterns of the Parasite Ecology in Townsend's Ground Squirrel, Spermophilus townsendii, in Idaho." | ||
Patty in the lab, ca. 1995 Lynn Hertel and Patty, ca. 1999 |
Jim, Patty, Mark and Maegan, 2005 |
Address: |
After completing her Ph.D., with distinction, in May, 1996, Patty decided the quality of her family life, and the opportunity for them to stay in Albuquerque, was the only life choice she wanted to make. This was not a decision she made lightly, especially for someone with her potential and competence, but it was a gutsy choice and points to the strength of her character. After graduating, she taught part-time for several years, both at Albuquerque TVI (now Central New Mexico Community College [CNM]) and in Biology, while she also worked part-time for Duke City Soccer, a job that gave her additional time with her kids, both of whom were accomplished young athletes. But three jobs and locations stretched her pretty thin, especially given her commute through Tijeras Canyon each day. In 2000, Patty consolidated her employment and took a position teaching biology at East Mountain High School in Edgewood, not too far from her home. In the short term, this was a great experience, but in the long term she wanted something more fulfilling and later took her current position as a full-time instructor at CNM. She and husband Jim still live in Tijeras, NM and, in addition to her full-time teaching responsibilities, Patty now enjoys raising and training horses. Daughter Maegan has a soccer scholarship at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX and “is the fittest thing on the face of the Earth, getting really good grades in Mass Communications and Political Science (double major).” This summer (2008) she is heading to NY to visit a friend and test the waters of the major modeling agencies. For most of the summer, she will be in Lubbock taking classes and working as a precinct captain in the presidential race. Son Mark has an internship at the Smithsonian for the semester working on lizard taxonomy. Apparently, “there are enough pickled specimens there to constitute a terrorist threat, so they all must be moved farther from the White House!” This summer he probably will work for Fish & Wildlife doing bird and turtle surveys out of Socorro, NM. |
M.S., Plan II (non-thesis), 1997. | |
Brett in the van, getting ready to go Brett on the doc at Wee Wee Caye, Belize, March, 1996
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Brett is an ecologist working at the Palmer Station in the Antarctic. The last time we heard from him, he had issued the following Lab News update (here are exerpts): PALMER STATION LAB NEWS Activity in the Palmer Station Laboratories primarily consisted of preparing for the upcoming summer field season and providing support for the LTER Ice Cruise. The R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD returned to Palmer Station at the end of the month after its SO GLOBEC cruise. During the two-day port call cargo was placed on the ship and laboratory supplies were returned to the station. Grantees from the ship were allowed to utilize the laboratories for sample processes, weighing chemicals and autoclaving glassware and other items. |
M.S., 1998, "Systematic Analysis of the Rodent and Rabbit Bot Flies Cuterebra." | ||
Wade in Puerto Penasco, Sornora, Mexico Wade in Belize, with our Tropical Biology class (1997), cracking a coconut under the watchful eye of Horace. |
Wade and Lynn Hertel, on the flight to Belize, 1997 Wade in the Biology greenhouse, ca 2006. |
For a couple years after completing his M.S. in 1998, Wade worked
various jobs as a laboratory technician in several research labs in
Biology. In 2002, he entered the Ph.D. program in Biology, working on
parasite ichthyology in Dr. Tom Turner's lab as a graduate research
and teaching assistant. He completed his comprehensive exams in the
spring of 2004, and in 2006, he was awarded a UNM Regents' Graduate
Fellowship (way to go, Wade!). Wade, where he loves to be, |
M.S. with distinction, Plan II (non-thesis), 1998, "Coccidia of Bats of the World." |
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Damien as a young student in our lab, 1997 Damien and Heather shortly after Christian's birth, 2001 Emmaline and Christian, January 2007 |
Emmaline and Christian, March 2008 Christian, March 2008 Damien and Heather, February 2008 |
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Ph.D., 1998, "Molecular Methods and Cross-transmission Experiments to Study the Taxonomy and Systematics of Cryptic Species of Eimeria." |
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John in the lab, about 1997or 1998 John thinking at the Sevilleta LTER
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John applying sun screen, Puerto Penasco, John eating coconut in Belize, 1997 |
Address: Lee Couch and John, ca. 2000 |
M.S. with distinction, 1999, "Endoparasitic Infections of Dipodomys and Perognathus Species on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, 1989–1998." | ||
Kim in the lab, ca. 1998–99 Kim in the lab, ca. 1998–99 Kim with her shaven head, 2004 |
Kim with her Austin Powers wig, 2004 Ethan and Kim, Christmas, 2005 or 2006 Kim and Ethan in Tokyo, April 2006 |
Address: |
Ph.D. with distinction, 2001, "Plastid DNA in Apicomplexa: Evolutionary Origin and Use in Molecular Systematics of Coccidia." |
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Xiaomin in the lab, 1999 Xiaomin inspecting a tidepool near CEDO, Xiaomin relaxing near a waterfall in China, 2007 |
Son Yang at a market in China, 2007 Son Yang at the Great Wall, China, 2007 |
Address: Home: Xiaomin completed his Ph.D. with distinction in January, 2001 and has progressed from a postdoctoral associate to a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His dissertation demonstrated keen insightful because, when he began his work, little was known about the evolutionary origin of the coccidian until it was discovered (mid-'90s) that some species have a piece of circular DNA that is similar to plastid DNA (plDNA) in green algae. Immediately, he asked important questions: Do all coccidia have this plDNA? If so, how does it function and can it be used as a target for chemotherapy? Can it be used as a tool to measure the evolutionary relatedness of all Apicomplexa? My lab had stock samples of several dozen rodent coccidia at the time, so he chose to address these questions using a rodent coccidia model. He was interested in the inherent biological nature and origin of plDNA, but also in its potential as a phylogenetic yardstick that could relate all coccidian. In pursuit of these ideas he: (1) deposited > 60 gene sequences into the Gen Bank database, for 28 species in five genera of Apicomplexa parasites; (2) developed a new, simple method for DNA extraction of Eimeria and other coccidia species, providing a more powerful and efficient tool for molecular research in parasitology; (3) was the first to document the presence of plDNA in mammalian Eimeria species, and provided evidence that plastids are common in all apicomplexans; and (4) found that two lineages of rodent Eimeria spp. can be differentiated by documenting their morphological features and suggested that, at least with rodent coccidia, morphology of the parasite is a better clue to evolutionary relationships than is host specificity (this has held up under scrutiny in other coccidian models). His work at the University of Illinois involves genetic manipulation of pathogenic fungi by knocking out specific genes to create mutant strains that are then tested for pathogenicity in a mouse model. To knock out a couple of genes in a year’s time, particularly if you have to grow and test the knock-out strains in a vertebrate model, is good progress. Xiaomin knocked out seven of nine ALS genes in Candida albicans in about 18 months, a herculean accomplishment. He has a marvelous wife, Hua, and brilliant son, Yang. |
M.S., 2002, "The Cestode Community of the Stingray (Urolophus halleri) from the Northern Gulf of California." | ||
Megan in our lab, ca. 2001 Megan & Lee Couch (2nd & 3rd from left) |
Mike, Megan and Abbi in the Painted Desert, Abbi in the morning, May 2008 |
Address: |
Ph.D., 2003, "Eimeriid Parasites of Guatemalan Reptiles and Amphibians, and Their Phylogenetic Relationship to Other Eimeriid Parasites." | ||
Ingrid in Guatamala, 1997 |
Ingrid in our lab, April 1999 Ingrid riding her horse, Sweet Simey |
Address: Molecular Systematics Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA Bldg. 1180, Rm. 3 Beltsville, MD 20705 Tel.: 301-233-4745 asmundsson@ars.usda.gov Home: 34-G Ridge Rd. Greenbelt, MD 20770 Tel.: 301-474-4483 ingrid.asmundsson@gmail.com Ingrid finished her Ph.D. in 2003 after spending several summers working in Guatamala with Professor Jon Campbell, helping to collect snakes and lizards and their parasites. During the summer of 2004, she attended/participated in the Summer Institute for Statistical Genetics at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC in the Population Genetics Data Analysis Module. From June 2003 to June 2005, Ingrid was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, studying comparative population genetics of Sarcocystis neurona based on microsatellite markers, under the direction of Dr. Ben Rosenthal (Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA, Beltsville, MD). Since then she has been studying population genetics, phylogeography and systematics of protostrongylid nematodes of Nearctic ungulates, working with Dr. Eric Hoberg, Chief Curator, U.S. National Parasite Collection, Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory, USDA, Beltsville MD. |
M.S., 2003, "Coccidia of Mammals from Beringia: A Survey and Inventory." | |
Andrew in our lab, 2002 Andrew "working" the audience at the |
Address:
Andrew at our home in Placitas, |