About Me

I am originally from Changsha, Hunan, China. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University, working with Dr. Stephen J. Dinsmore on questions in avian movement ecology.

I am a spatial ecologist trained at the interface of geography and biology. My research integrates movement ecology, quantitative spatial modeling, remote sensing, and animal tracking to understand how animals perceive, evaluate, and respond to dynamic landscapes, and how individual movement decisions scale up to broader patterns of migration, movement pathways, and ecological connectivity, with implications for conservation.

In my current postdoctoral research, I am extending these questions to new movement systems, including seabirds and Arctic-breeding shorebirds. Using high-resolution tracking data, I am interested in fine-scale space use, movement strategies, breeding-season behavior, and connectivity across different stages of the annual cycle.

I completed my Ph.D. in the Marine Estuarine and Environmental Sciences Graduate Program and the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park, where I worked with Dr. William F. Fagan.

Using Arctic barren-ground caribou as a model system, my doctoral research examined how melting lake ice, seasonal barriers, shifting landscape permeability, and population decline shape movement pathways and functional connectivity. Conducted through the Fate of the Caribou Project, this work included studies of lake-ice crossing behavior during migration and the structure and reuse of summer movement routes.

More broadly, I aim to develop transferable spatial frameworks that link environmental dynamics to animal decision-making, movement pathways, and conservation-relevant connectivity under global change.

Education

2021-2026 Ph.D. in Biological Science, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

2018-2020 M.S. in Geography, University at Buffalo, SUNY, USA

2016-2017 Undergraduate Exchange Program in Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

2013-2017 B.S. in Natural Geography and Resource Environment, Yunnan University, China

Selected Recognition

My research and graduate training have been supported by competitive fellowships, awards, research support, and travel funding, totaling over $34,000. Recent recognitions include the Ecological Society of America Student Section 2026 Trailblazing Ecology Publication Award, the Ecological Society of America Biogeosciences Section 2025 New Phytologist Award for Best Student Presentation, the Dr. Devra Kleiman Memorial Graduate Endowment, and the Reid Evans Menzer Memorial Graduate Award

Experience

Iowa State University

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 2026–Present

Conducting research in avian movement ecology using high-resolution tracking data to study fine-scale space use, movement strategies, breeding-season behavior, and connectivity across the annual cycle, with current study systems including gulls and Arctic-breeding shorebirds.

University of Maryland, College Park

Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Biology / MEES, 2021–2026

Conducted doctoral research in movement and spatial ecology using Arctic barren-ground caribou as a model system, with a focus on animal decision-making in dynamic landscapes, climate-sensitive lake-crossing behavior, reused movement routes, and functional connectivity.

Teaching Assistant, 2022–2026

[View course list and teaching details]

Served as a teaching assistant across 7 instructional appointments in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, spanning introductory biology laboratories, upper-level ecology discussions, and graduate-level quantitative training. Across courses, my goal has been to create a learning environment where students feel supported, capable, and empowered to ask questions.

My teaching experience includes high-intensity biology lab sections of up to 48 students and graduate-level quantitative training for 50–70 Ph.D. In total, I have supported more than 350 students across seven semesters.

Undergraduate Research Mentor, 2022–2025

Mentored undergraduate research assistants on movement ecology, spatial analysis, and animal tracking projects.

Fate of the Caribou Project

Graduate Student Researcher, 2023–Present

Studying how dynamic landscape features shape caribou movement, water-crossing behavior, and reused migration routes in the Arctic.

The Wildlife Society, 2026 Annual Conference, Des Moines, Iowa

Symposium Co-organizer, 2026

Co-organizer of “From Arctic to Himalaya to Antarctica: Wildlife and Climate Change Across the Three Poles,” Des Moines, Iowa.

View Poster 🔗

Peking University

Instructor, Wildlife Tracking & Movement Ecology Workshop, July 2024

Led a workshop on animal movement analysis, wildlife tracking, and reproducible coding workflows.