I am a PhD. candidate in the Physiology track of the Biology Dept. at the University of California Riverside. In general, I am interested in the evolutionary physiology of ectotherms (lizards and fish specifically). Through the use of phylogenetic comparative methods I explore how the physiology of organisms may have been influenced or shaped through natural and sexual selection. For my dissertation, I am examining the effects of sexually selected traits on locomotor performance in species of Xiphophorus  (swordtails and platyfish). I have been working with my advisor Ted Garland, along with David Reznick and Mark Chappell to examine the effect the sexually selected "sword" has on various means of locomotor performance.