Principal Investigators
Ausich, William I.
School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Crinoid evolutionary history from crinoid originations through late Paleozoic radiations
Baumiller, Tomasz K.
Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Morphology of fossil echinoderms, emphasizing crinoids
Janies, Daniel A.
School of Biomedical Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Overall PI for EchinoToL, responsible for communication with NSF; leader of the informatics group, responsible for data management and enabling analyses
Foltz, David W.
Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Molecular systematics of modern echinoderms, emphasizing Asteroidea
Hunter, Rebecca L.
Department of Biology, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX
Molecular systematics and morphology of modern echinoderms, emphasizing Ophiuroidea
Kammer, Thomas W.
Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Phylogeny of Paleozoic crinoids, with emphasis on cladids, the stem group of living crinoids
Kerr, Alexander M.
Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
Morphology of modern echinoderms, emphasizing Echinoidea
Mah, Christopher L.
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Morphological systematics of sea stars; specimen identification and maintenance
Messing, Charles G.
Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL
Phylogeny of living crinoids
Rouse, Gregory W.
Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Phylogeny of modern crinoids; morphology of modern echinoderms, emphasizing crinoids; leader of the outreach group
Sumrall, Colin D.
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Morphology and homology of numerous Cambrian and Ordovician echinoderm clades including edrioasteroids, homalozoans, and various groups of blastozoans
Swofford, David L.
Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC
Informatics working group, leading the transcript sequence analysis pipeline
Wray, Gregory A.
Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC
Molecular working group, supervising sequence data collection
Research Associates
Seid, Charlotte
Benthic Invertebrate Collection, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Specimen curation and website management
Deline, Bradley
Department of Geosciences, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA
Morphology and phylogeny of Paleozoic crinoids and patterns in morphologic diversity (disparity) within echinoderms
Waters, Johnny
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
Morphology and phylogeny of blastozoans, particularly the blastoids
Postdoctoral Researchers
Rhenberg, Elizabeth
School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Morphology and phylogeny of crinoids
Graduate Students
Atwood, Will
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Morphology and phylogenetics within Blastoidea, an extinct clade of echinoderms that spanned from the Ordovician to the Permian.
Bragonje, Eva
M.S. student in Geology and Paleontology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Evolution of the oral surface and tegmen in Paleozoic camerate crinoids
Cole, Lena
School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Fadiga, Troy
Ph. D. student in Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Morphology and phylogenetics within Glyptocystitida, an extinct clade that spanned from the late Cambrian to the late Devonian
Miller, Allison
M.S. student in Biology, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
Phylogenetics of extant Holothuroidea
Peter, Mark A.
Ph.D. student, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Phylogeny of Flexibilia (Crinoidea)
Taylor, Kristian
Ph. D. student, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL
Phylogenetics of extant crinoids, namely the tropiometriod and mariametroid comatulids
Undergraduate Students
Armenta, Brittany
B.S. in Biology expected May 2012, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX
Molecular systematics of the Ophiuroidea
Cremins, Devin
Department of Art and Graphic Design, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
Visualization of internal structures of blastoids in 2-D and 3-D
Fatland, Scott
B.S. in Coastal Environmental Science expected May 2013, School of the Coast and the Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Molecular systematics of the Asteroidea
Rose, Shannon
B.S. in Biology expected May 2012, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX
Molecular systematics of the Ophiuroidea
Thompson, Jeff
B.S. in Geological Sciences expected, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Identification of potential exemplar taxa, data preparation for MorphoBank, character coding