JANECKA LAB ​​
Lab Members
About our lab
Our work delves into the intricate relationships between the changing landscape, free-living organisms, and parasites. We aim to unravel the complexities of coevolution and disease dynamics to better inform conservation action. We are based at Powdermill Field Station and Nature Reserve, part of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History,
Mary Janecka, PhD
Principle Investigator
Director of Powdermill Field Station and Nature Reserve
I am a field biologist and landscape geneticist studying host-parasite biodiversity and evolution in complex geographic mosaics. I combine my intellectual love of parasites with my passion for conservation to design research that integrates the two fields.
Kathryn (Kat) Sullivan, PhD
R.K. Mellon Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Powdermill Field Station and Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Kat is leading the data base creation and analysis of biotic changes in Powdermill's avian, vegetation and salamander communities. With over 60 years of banding data, point counts and vegetation surveys, her research will identify community-level shifts in biodiversity in a changing landscape.
Roberto Gomez
PhD Student
Duquesne University
Roberto is a fellow El Paso native. His research focuses on interactions between parasite infection, host immunogenetics and the microbiome. He joins us from University of Texas at EL Paso and Texas Tech University. He joined the lab with a strong background in mammal and reptile field work and zoological experience at the Dallas Zoo and Dallas World Aquarium.
Beth Field
PhD Student
University of Texas at El Paso
Beth is committed to the conservation of rivers and their inhabitants. She works in some of Texas's most beautiful and remote landscapes, focused on the Devils and Pecos Rivers. Her research investigates the interactions between habitat degradation, water quality, and host-parasite ecology. She works with both vertebrate and invertebrate communities.
Lab Alumni
Karen Stopani
Maxwell-Hanrahan Fellow and REU Undergraduate student
University of Texas at El Paso
Karen's work in the lab began by studying changes in fish communities in the Rio Grande, Pecos and Devils rivers in response to human habitat changes and invasive species introductions. She then independently led research on the landscape genomics of ticks and their pathogens in Missouri.
Tarana Sharmin, MS
Masters in Biology
University of Texas at El Paso
Tarana joined the lab in the development of research on the effects of Tularemia infection on tick blood feeding and host-seeking behavior. She joins us from Dhaka University, Bangladesh, where she completed her MS in Entomology. Aside from tick wrangling, she loves to cook and travel. After graduation, she will pursue a career in medical entomology. She was co-advised by Dr. Brett Seymore (UTEP).
Leticia Giron
NSF COURI ASSETs Scholar
Leticia is a senior undergraduate student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, on a mission to experience as much as possible both in the field and in the lab. She has previously studied prey response in Freshwater rotifers. She joined the lad to further pursue her love of aquatic life!
Mahala Peter-Frank
Chihuahuan Desert Biodiversity REU Summer 2025
UCLA
Mahala conducted research on the coloration and parasite infection of redbreast and green sunfish. In addition to field sampling, she developed protocols on field-based spectroscopy and gained experience with microscopy and data analysis in ImageJ. She plans to pursue a career in academia focused on marine microbiology.
Jose Angel Marquez
Undergraduate Research Assistant
University of Texas at El Paso
Angel was instrumental in field sampling, dissections, and microscopy. He worked on the Fish-Parasite Biodiversity in the Rio Grande drainage basin. Angel is pursuing a career in academic research and currently applying to graduate programs. Pictured here with Orin Janecka.
Rafael Arellano
Undergraduate Research Assistant
University of Texas at El Paso
Rafa was a dedicated member of our sampling crew in the spring and summer of 2025 focused on fish-parasite biodiversity in the Rio Grande drainage basin. He gained field and laboratory experience in preparation for a career in the medical field.
Honorary Members
Orin Janecka
Fishing guide
Fishing and herping since the age of 2, Orin contributes to collections and training new undergraduate students in fish identification and natural history.
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Eowyn Janecka
Field assistant
Eowyn contributes to all aspects of our research, from field work on mammals, reptiles and fish to dissections. She also contributes by infecting the team with her contagious enthusiasm.