Lab Members
Current Lab Members
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Ryan ThumHe/himAssociate Professor My general field of interest encompass evolutionary and molecular ecology, with a specific emphasis on invasive aquatic species. My research is rooted in conceptual evolutionary ecology, but aims to contribute conceptual knowledge and understanding to guide practical decision making and solutions regarding invasive species - on of the world's most pressing environmental problems.
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Ashley WolfeShe/herLab Manager/Research Associate I just completed my Master's degree in Fall 2024 in the Thum Lab. Where my work focused on creating a centralized watermilfoil database, MilfoilMapper, to help aid in watermilfoil management decisions. As a lab manager I help with general lab organization and management. As well as coordinating sample collection and providing genetic species identification services to aquatic plant managers. In the greenhouse, I aid with mapping population culture maintenance and screen plants for fluridone resistance.
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Greg ChorakHe/himPost-Doctoral Researcher I am generally interested in evolutionary and molecular ecology. My research is focused on understanding herbicide resistance in nuisance weeds. Specifically, I am working with the aquatic invasive plant, watermilfoil, to identify molecular markers that can accurately predict the response of watermilfoil to commonly used herbicides. I see my research contributing to both basic science and applied management.
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Zach KuzniarHe/himPhD Student I am interested in the evolution of herbicide resistance in aquatic plants. I plan to explore the effects of herbicide management in irrigation canals, and impacts to agricultural systems that depend on water from them. When away from Bozeman, I live and work in Boise as a biologist in the plant management industry.
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Del HannayThey/HePhD student I joined the lab in August 2022. My general scientific interests encompass contemporary and historical patterns of evolution in plant populations. In the lab, I work on identifying casual loci behind fluridone resistance in invasive watermilfoil, via gene expression and QTL mapping. I also have a project focused on species boundaries in closely related North American watermilfoil species.
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Ulysses OlesHe/himPhD student I graduated from Texas Christian University with my Master's, where my work focused on marker development for Hydrilla verticilata. I joined in the lab in August 2024. I am interested in researching the genetic components associated with invasive aquatic plant success. Currently my research in the Thum Lab is focused on working with curly leaf pondweed and understanding the inner workings of turion production.
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Maggie WegnerShe/herResearch Assistant I graduated from St. Lawrence University in May of 2024 with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and Biology and a minor in Computer Science. I work as a lab technician helping with molecular projects and greenhouse work to support current research on invasive aquatic plant species.
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Olivia SchwartzShe/herMaster's student I graduated in December 2023 with my B.S. in Biology, a minor in Chemistry and a focus in Botany from Montana State University Billings. My undergraduate research explored plant biodiversity from molecular and population genomics perspectives. I spent 2024 serving an 11-month term with Montana Conservation Corps in Billings, confirming my interests in invasive plant species, conservation and natural resource management. My work in the lab will center around creating additional genetic mapping populations for herbicide response.
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Umer MasoodHe/himPhD student I joined the lab in Spring 2024. My research focuses on finding the cause for herbicide resistance in alfalfa weevils. |
Past Lab Members
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Hannah HoffResearch Associate I completed my Master’s degree in the Thum Lab studying hybridization and invasiveness in Eurasian watermilfoil. As a Research Associate, I continued to work on characterizing and cataloging genotypes of invasive watermilfoil in their responses to commonly used auxinic herbicides, while maintaining greenhouse cultures of genotypes that are of interest to the lab. |
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Katie GannonResearch Associate I graduated with a Master's degree from the Thum lab in July 2021, where my research focused on the spatial structure and temporal dynamics of invasive watermilfoil genotypes. I then worked as the field coordinator for the Thum lab; organizing sample collection across the United States as well as managing the molecular genetics portion of the lab identifying watermilfoil species.
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Jeff PashnickPhD Student My research focuses on developing genomic resources (e.g. molecular markers, linkage maps) to provide resources to link genotype to phenotype in the non-model Myriophyllum spp..
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Emma RiceResearch Associate I assisted with many projects in the laboratory and greenhouse to support research on evolutionary and molecular ecology of key invasive aquatic plants. Additional work includes providing genetic species identification services to aquatic plant managers.
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Katelin KilloyUndergraduate Researcher I majored in Conservation Biology and Ecology. I worked under a grant from the Undergraduate Scholar Program studying the genetic diversity of crested floating heart (Nymphoides peltata). This data will give insight on the number of introductions and geographic origin of this invasive species.
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Yuan-Yuan ChenVisiting Researcher I was a visiting scholar from Wuhan Botany Garden, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I am interested in population genetics of aquatic and wetland plants with special emphasis on the tempo-spatial patterns of genetic diversity and gene flow models in natural populations.
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