Meaghan Pimsler
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MEAGHAN L. PIMSLER CURRICULUM VITAE Department of Biological Sciences Work: (205) 348.8612 University of Alabama Phone: (703) 474.1143 Box 870344 E-mail: [email protected] Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 [email protected] Education Ph.D., Entomology, Texas A&M University. August Dissertation title: A Functional Genetic Study of Sexual Dimorphism and 2015 Behavioral Ecology in Chrysomya rufifacies (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Advisors: Dr. Jeffery K. Tomberlin and Dr. Aaron M. Tarone B.S., Entomology, Cornell University. Magna Cum Laude, Honors Distinction in Research May 2007 Thesis title: A Survey of the Dung Beetles in Cattle Manure on Pastures of an Organic and a Conventional Dairy Farm in New York State. Research Interests I am interested in three major avenues of research: the adaptive population genetics, native pollinators, and the causes and consequences of sexual dimorphism. Currently I am a postdoctoral research associate working on “genome to phenome to beenome” project aimed at identifying signatures of adaptation to altitude. In the future, I would like to integrate information from a variety of techniques, from de novo transcriptomics to behavior and ecological research, to accomplish the following goals: a) study the effect of landscape-level factors on ecology and evolution of native pollinators, b) to understand evolutionary factors that affect the downstream effects of sexual dimorphism, and c) exploring the value of flies as pollinators. I intend to pursue a tenure track position at a research university that will provide the opportunity for extension, research, mentorship, and collaborations. Professional and Research Experience Postdoctoral Fellow. August 2015- Adaptive Landscape Genomics of Native Pollinators. Present Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Graduate Research Assistant. September Molecular Behavioral Ecology/Forensic Entomology, 2014- August Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, 2015 Texas. Graduate Research Assistant. August 2010 – Molecular Behavioral Ecology/Forensic Entomology August 2013 Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. 1 of 12 Meaghan L. Pimsler Curriculum Vitae Research Associate May 2006 – Veterinary Entomology Department, May 2007 Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Technician. May 2005 – West Nile Virus Surveillance Program, August 2005 Fairfax County Health Department, Fairfax County, Virginia. Teaching Experience Graduate Teaching Assistant. August FIVS 201: Introduction to Forensic and Investigative Sciences. 2013 – May FIVS/ENTO: 431/432: Theoretical and Applied Forensic Entomology. 2014 Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Assistant Language Teacher. July 2007 – Junior high school and high school English as a Second Language. July 2010 Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. Okinawa Board of Education, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Other Experience Case Manager (9 cases). 2013- Coordinates with Dr. Jeffery K. Tomberlin, investigators, and other students in present the lab on forensic entomology consultations. Texas A&M University, Texas. Forensic Entomology Consulting (15 cases). Working with Dr. Jeffery K. Tomberlin to provide case-by-case forensic 2010- entomology consultancy with law enforcement, defense counsels, and medical present and veterinary professionals. Texas A&M University, Texas. Grants and Fellowships • United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Education and Literacy Initiative Postdoctoral Research Grant #2018-67012-28040. May 2018 – May 2020. $164,987. • Science Policy Fellows Program, Entomological Society of America, Annapolis, MD. Class of 2017. • CARSCA (College Academy of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity) Grant, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Carrion breeding Diptera associated bacteriophage discovery. January 2017- December 2017. $5000. • Dissertation Fellowship, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Tuition, fees and stipend from September 2014 to August 2015. August 2014. $37,700. • Whole Systems Genome Initiative (WSGI) Graduate Traineeship, WSGI, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Tuition and stipend from January 2014 to September 2014. August 2013. $24,000. 2 of 12 Meaghan L. Pimsler Curriculum Vitae • Regents Fellowship, Entomology Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. August 2010. $7,000. • Diversity Fellowship, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Tuition and stipend from September 2010 to September 2013. August 2010. $105,000. Awards and Honors • 1st Place Graduate Student Presentation, Joint North American Forensic Entomology Association and Society for Wildlife Forensic Sciences Meeting, Missoula, Montana. June 2015. • John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award. Southwestern Branch, Entomological Society of America. Southwestern Branch Meeting, Tulsa, Oklahoma. February 2015. • 2015 Outstanding PhD Student. Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. February 2015. • Monsanto Student Travel Award. Entomological Society of America 2014 annual meeting, Portland, Oregon. August 2014. • Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology Section Student Travel Grant to the annual Entomological Society of America Meeting. Portland, Oregon. July 2014. • 1st Place Outstanding Presentation of Research, Graduate Student Forum, Entomology Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. August 2013. • 1st Place Doctoral Presentation, North American Forensic Entomology Association Meeting, Dayton, Ohio. July 2013. • 2013 Outstanding PhD Student. Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. February 2013. • 2nd Place- Oral Presentation in Student’s Competition for the Presidents Prize; Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology section 4 at the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Knoxville, Tennessee. November 2012. • Competitive Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Travel Grant, to attend ESA 2011 meeting in Reno, Nevada. October 2011. • 1st Place Doctoral Presentation, North American Forensic Entomology Association Meeting, College Station, Texas. July 2011. • Honorable Mention, Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation. 2009 & 2010. Peer Reviewed Publications • Pimsler, M. L., S.-H. Sze, S. Saenz, S. Fu, J. K. Tomberlin, and A. M. Tarone. 2019. Gene expression correlates of facultative predation in the blow fly Chrysomya rufifacies (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Ecology and Evolution. 9(15): 8690-8701. • Pimsler, M. L., R. K. Krell, M. Alleyne, T. Anderson, A. Kennedy, and T. Durham. 2019. Science policy begins at home: grassroots advocacy at the state and local level. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 112(2): 79-84. • Elsensohn, J. E., T. Anderson, J. R. Cryan, T. Durham, K. J. Gandhi, J. Gordon, R. K. Krell, M. L. Pimsler, A. Rivers and H. Spafford. 2019. From research to policy: scientists speaking for science. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 112(2): 75-78. • J. M. Jackson, M. L. Pimsler, K. J. Oyen, J. B. Koch-Uhuad, J. D. Herndon, J. P. Strange, M. E. Dillon, and J. D. Lozier. 2018. Distance, elevation, and environment as drivers of diversity 3 of 12 Meaghan L. Pimsler Curriculum Vitae and divergence in bumble bees across latitude and altitude. Molecular Ecology. 27(14): 2926- 2942. • Sze, S.-H., M. L. Pimsler, J. K. Tomberlin, C. D. Jones, and A. M. Tarone. 2017. A scalable and memory-efficient algorithm for de novo transcriptome assembly of non-model organisms. BMC Bioinformatics. 18(Suppl 4):387. • Pimsler, M. L., J. M. Jackson, and J. D. Lozier. 2017. Population genomics reveals a candidate gene involved in bumble bee pigmentation. Ecology and Evolution. 7(10): 3406–3413. • Pimsler, M. L., C. G. Owings, B. M. O’Connor, R. Mohr, P. Teel, and J. K. Tomberlin. 2016. Case studies of mite species and first ever mite associate of Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Diptera: Muscidae) from a forensic entomology case. J. Med. Ent.: tjv203. • OConnor, B. M., M. L. Pimsler, C. G. Owings, and J. K. Tomberlin. 2015. Redescription of Myianoetus muscarum (Acari: Histiostomatidae) associated with human remains in Texas, USA, with designation of a neotype from Western Europe. J. Med. Ent.: tjv045. • Pimsler, M. L., T. Pape, J. S. Johnston, R. A. Wharton, J. J. Parrott, M. S. Sanford, J. K. Tomberlin, and A. M. Tarone. 2014. Ultramorphology of eggs and first instar larvae in an egg laying population of Blaesoxipha plinthopyga (Diptera:Sarcophagidae). J. Med. Ent. 51(6): 1283-1295. • Scott, M. J., M. L. Pimsler, and A. M. Tarone. 2014. Sex determination mechanisms in calliphorids (blow flies). Sex. Dev. 8(1-3): 29-37. (Invited paper) • Zheng, L., T.L. Crippen, L. Holmes, B. Singh, M. L. Pimsler, M.E. Benbow, A.M. Tarone, S. Dowd, Z. Yu, S. VanLaerhoven, T.K. Wood, and J.K. Tomberlin. 2013. Bacteria mediate oviposition by the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Sci. Rep. 3: 2563. • Ma, Q., W. Liu, A. T. Fields, M. L. Pimsler, A. M. Tarone, T. L. Crippen, J. K. Tomberlin, and T. K. Wood. 2012. Proteus mirabilis interkingdom swarming signals attract blow flies. Int. Soc. Micro. Ecol. J. 6: 1356-1366. Peer-reviewed chapters • J. K. Tomberlin, M. R. Sanford, M. L. Pimsler, and S. VanLaerhoven. 2015. Behavioral Ecology of Organisms Associated with Decomposing Vertebrate Carrion. In Carrion Ecology, Evolution, and their Application. [Eds.] M. E. Benbow,