After earning a PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Iowa State University and completing a post-doc with the Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS, I am currently an assistant professor in the Biological Science Department at Ohio Wesleyan University. My research integrates field observations, controlled laboratory experiments, and molecular techniques to identify the mechanisms that allow – or limit – the success of individuals and populations in changing or novel environments. This work has focused on a variety of reptile species to date, including integrating life-history, physiology, and behavioral studies in garter snakes; exploring the thermoregulatory potential of reptile embryos; and quantifying the interaction of variation in temperature and oxygen availability on lizards living at high elevation. More recently, work in the lab has taken a turn toward functional morphology to follow student interests as we investigate populations of the common wall lizard that have successfully established in Cincinnati and elsewhere in Ohio.