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​Daniela Palmer Droguett, PhD (she/her)
Office: ERB 428
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I am an evolutionary biologist, and I study the evolution and ecology of sexual biodiversity.

Previously, I was a postdoctoral fellow in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at Michigan State University. Before MSU, I was an NSF postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield.

You can find my CV here.
Feel free to email me at [email protected]. 

Mahshid Kalantar-Neyestanaki
PhD student

Prior to coming to UTA, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. I joined the Palmer Lab in Fall 2023. The reason I decided to pursue a PhD is because I have a great passion for genes, their evolution, and functions. My intention is to find the answers for the questions in my mind regarding sex chromosome genes!

Satabdi Mandal 
PhD student

I am broadly interested in sexual selection, evolution of traits, adaptation, and biodiversity. For my masters, at Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (Bangalore), I performed a study correlating activity to aggression during intrasexual competition in Psammophilus dorsalis lizards, trying to broadly recognize the co-evolution of traits. As a PhD student in the Palmer lab, I aspire to learn more about the evolution of sexual diversity in treehoppers, and what ecological factors might be contributing towards this diversity. I wish to apply this knowledge later in my career, to understand how the dynamic nature of sex chromosomes affects mating strategies in various taxa. 
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When not working, you can find me talking about queer and caste minorities in India, learning more about the history of the global south and collecting stories. 

Mary Kumah
Undergraduate student 

I am a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Texas at Arlington. I am currently working on my honors thesis project which focuses on sex biased gene expression in treehoppers. I aspire to contribute to medical research in the future!

Nandi Zulu
Undergraduate student 

I'm a fourth-year undergrad at the University of Texas at Arlington. Currently, I am pursing a Bachelor of Science in Biology. I plan to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Science and I hope to teach and inspire students one day! 

Former lab members

Pablo Lopez - Lab technician
Saima Akhter - Rotation PhD student
Chinonyerem Obiakonwa – Undergraduate student
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