Danielle Land

Danielle Land is a 2024-2028 Self Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas. She graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2021 with a B.S. in Biology, minoring in Chemistry and Philosophy. Following her graduation, Danielle worked as a post-baccalaureate researcher with the Museum of Southwestern Biology's Division of Mammals, where she gained valuable fieldwork experience and learned molecular laboratory procedures. Inspired by this experience, she obtained an M.S. degree at the University of New Mexico in 2024, focusing on the evolutionary and demographic history of Eurasian shrews. Her extensive fieldwork trips to collect holistic specimens included visits to the western United States, Alaska, Canada, and Panama. At the University of Kansas, Danielle will collaborate with the Biodiversity Institute and the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Her research will explore viral diversity across landscapes, host-parasite dynamics, and population structure using museum specimens and phylogenomic techniques.

Mentor: Dr. Jocelyn Colella, Curator - Mammalogy