PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Bonnie Blaimer
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Bonnie B. Blaimer is driven to study ant diversity and systematics to promote insects in conservation work. Her research has led her from exploring the diversity of arboreal ants in Madagascar and other parts of the world to delving into the complexities of ant phylogenomics and systematics.
Blaimer is a Researcher in Insect Biodiversity at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany, and a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Email: [email protected]
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Michael Branstetter
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Michael G. Branstetter is passionate about the diversity and conservation of the "little things that run the world" and is an expert in the systematics of ants, bees, and wasps. He is also a leader in the field of insect phylogenomics, having pioneered the use of UCEs in Hymenoptera. Branstetter has done extensive field work in Central America and is a strong advocate for specimen-based research.
Branstetter currently works as a Research Entomologist for the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit in Logan, UT and serves as an adjunct professor at Utah State University. His primary research focus is on the use of molecular data in bee systematics and identification. Email: [email protected]
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Brian Fisher
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Brian L Fisher is a scientist, speaker and teacher with a passion for ants. His vast array of work across the globe addresses crucial questions about ant taxonomy, biodiversity, and conservation. He strives to put ants on equal footing with birds in terms of understanding their biology and role in conservation.
Fisher is currently an adjunct professor at the University of California Berkeley, a member of the research faculty at San Francisco State University, and the chairman of the entomology department of the California Academy of Sciences. Website: https://www.fisherlab.org/
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Jack Longino
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John T. Longino started collecting insects in middle school and hasn’t stopped since. He’s now traversed the world studying ants, and has made valuable contributions to myrmecology in a wide array of areas.
He has focused much of his work on the taxonomy of neotropical ants and ecological patterns of ant diversity, as well as studies of biodiversity inventory methodology and regional faunistic work in Costa Rica. Longino has also contributed over 230,000 specimen records to antweb.org and is a leading ant taxonomist. Longino is currently a Professor at the University of Utah. Email: [email protected]
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Philip Ward
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Philip S. Ward is a professor and researcher who is fascinated with insect natural history and the processes that have generated such a diverse array of forms. He specializes in systematics, biogeography and evolution of ants, ant-plant mutualisms, and phylogeny and speciation.
Ward is currently a professor of entomology at the University of California Davis. Email: [email protected]
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POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
Maël Doré
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Maël Doré is an evolutionary ecologist interested into unveiling patterns of biodiversity and evolutionary history at large spatial, taxonomic and time scales. Thus, he loves building maps and phylogenies and integrating Biogeography, Systematics, Macroecology and Macroevolution to get insights about how life spreads and diversifies across the planet. With the AOWTP, he is investigating the biogeographic history, and evolution of niche and traits of ponerinae ants worldwide.
Maël Doré is currently a Postdoctoral researcher at Blaimer Ant Lab at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Email: [email protected]
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Gabi P. Camacho
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Gabi P. Camacho is interested in exploring the complexities of insect diversity, particularly focusing on ants, through taxonomic and evolutionary research. Leveraging extensive experience in collection-based work, she aims to unravel the underlying processes shaping the diversity and distribution of ants, employing integrative methodologies across morphology, genomics, and ecology.
Camacho is currently an assistant professor at the Universidade of São Paulo, Brazil, and the Scientific Curator for Hymenoptera at the Museu de Zoologia at USP. Email: [email protected]
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RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Elaine Tan
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Elaine Tan is a Masters student in the Longino Lab at the University of Utah. From a young age, they have always been interested in the natural world, which lead to their undergrad biology degree at UC Santa Barbara. In California, Tan worked with many different species and eventually found an interest in ants. In the lab, Tan helps out with the AOWTP and is investigating their own project about social parasitism in local ant species. Email: [email protected]
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Rodolfo Probst
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Rodolfo Probst worked as a Research Assistant to the AOWTP until 2022. He helped generate molecular data and developed lab protocols. He received his B.S. from The State University of São Paulo, his Masters from the Zoology Museum of the University of São Paulo, and his PhD from the Longino Lab in 2022. Probst is led by his interest in ant evolution, as well as his passion for tropical fieldwork, teaching the public about bugs and conservation, and exploring the outdoors.
Email: [email protected]
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Toby Hays
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Toby Hays was an undergrad researcher in the Longino Lab at the University of Utah until 2022, where he worked on DNA sequencing and DNA extractions for the AOWTP. He is now a Masters student at University of California San Diego. He is studying microbiology and chemistry with an interest in arthropods and insects.
Email: [email protected]
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Otávio Guilherme Morais da Silva
Otávio was a guest researcher in the Longino lab in 2021-2022. Otávio was from the Universidade Federal do Pará/Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Pará, Brazil. His interest in ants and ecology started in his undergraduate study and led him to study taxonomy in all settings from urban sprawls to tropical jungles. In the Longino Lab, Otávio was carrying out his PhD research on the ant genus Rogeria and also assisting with the larger goals of AOWTP. Otávio successfully completed his PhD and continues to work on Rogeria in collaboration with AOWTP.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
OUTREACH
Erica Lampers
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Erica Lampers was a health and science communication major at the University of Utah. She ran the social media and website from 2022-2023. Erica pushed to find new audiences for Ants of the World by trying out different content to post, such as #AntFactFridays.
Email: [email protected]
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Zahra Saifee
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Zahra Saifee was an undergrad communications student at the University of Utah. She helped run the AOTWP website and social media from 2021-2022. While the rest of the lab was figuring out ant DNA sequences and taxonomy, Zahra was figuring out the best way to tweet about it in less than 280 characters.
Email: [email protected]
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Mark Draper
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Mark Draper was a science and environmental communication student at the University of Utah, with a passion for anything involving the outdoors and cameras. Draper created this website and managed the twitter account from 2020 - 2021.
Email: [email protected]
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