Dr. Shermin de Silva (PhD) - Group Leader
I direct the Udawalawe Elephant Research Project, and am the President and Founder of Trunks & Leaves Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the evidence-based conservation of Asian elephants and their habitats. Prior to joining UCSD, I held postdoctoral fellowships at Colorado State University, the Institute or Advanced Study in Berlin, and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. I currently serve on the Asian Elephant Specialist Group of the IUCN. I received my PhD in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. |
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Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers
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Abhinaya Pathak - Graduate Student
I worked for Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation under Ministry of Forests and Environment for more than 7 years in different protected areas of Nepal. As I love to work and study about megaherbivores, I have engaged with IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group as a member. I did my masters from National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan in 2020 conducting genetic studies on Greater One Horned Rhinoceros of Chitwan National Park, Nepal as master thesis. I have immense desire to learn megaherbivores with both genetic and ecological lenses alongside apply the learnings in the management and conservation of the species.
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Graduate student in EBE
Shurl & Kay Curci Foundation Scholar (2023-2025) |
Helina Jolly - Postdoctoral Researcher
I am an interdisciplinary researcher, documentarian, and National Geographic explorer working with Indigenous peoples and traditional communities in India and Canada. My research involves understanding their knowledge systems and examining how histories of colonization, oppression, injustice, and governance models have influenced the characterization, measurement, and management of forests in Indigenous landscapes. I hold a Ph.D. in Resources, Environment, and Sustainability from the University of British Columbia and an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Currently at the University of California, San Diego, my research, supported by a. SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship, I continue to explore Indigenous-nature relationships and traditional knowledge systems in South Asia with a focus on wild honeybees, human-wildlife coexistence, cultural fire, and land management.
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Social Sciences Humanities Research Centre (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellow
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UCSD Undergraduate Students
Alyssa Ayan
I am an EBE major with a special interest in Animal Behavior. I hope to apply Animal Behavior research towards conservation efforts that focus on recovering populations.
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Sabine Wood
I am an EBE and Biological Anthropology double major here at UCSD, but originally I'm from Utah, Texas, and Washington State. I love learning about animal-human relations across time and space, and I am interested in cross-species communication.
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Finn Deacher
I am currently an undergraduate at UCSD studying EBE. I am from Boulder, Colorado and spent a semester abroad studying ecology and marine biology in Australia. I am interested in animal behavior and recovery ecology, and plan on doing a masters and PhD with the goal to work in endangered species conservation.
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Jasmine Hubbard
I am a current EBE major at UCSD, from San Diego. I enjoy learning all about animal social behavior and communication. I am especially interested in research regarding human impacts on the behavior and social dynamics of different species.
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Other Lab Members
Chithrangani Rathnayake - GIS Analyst
Chithra received her PhD from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) on the relationship between land-use change and human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka. She is interested in mapping and analysing land cover change using geospatial technologies, as well as the implications for elephant habitats.
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Past Lab Members
Cecilia Ma Li - UC Davis Undergraduate, UC LEADS Summer Scholar (2023)