Wildlife Genomics LabSmith College

The lab

People

Portrait of Dr. Tanya M. Lama

Tanya M. Lama, PhD

Principal Investigator · Assistant Professor of Genomics

Dr. Tanya Lama received her doctorate from UMass Amherst and completed the National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology jointly hosted by the Dávalos Lab at SUNY Stony Brook and the Karlsson Lab at the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard. Using genomic methods, Dr. Lama studies the evolutionary processes underlying population vulnerability, resilience, and response, particularly in the context of global climate change. Her applied conservation research on Canada lynx (L. canadensis) demonstrates how genomics can bridge the gap between research, management, and policy. The Wildlife Genomics Lab at Smith College focuses on how life history traits -- particularly lifespan -- can shape evolutionary responses to rapid environmental change. Along with key collaborators Drs. Liliana Davalos (SUNY Stony Brook) and Emma Teeling (University College Dublin), Dr. Lama uses comparative genomics to explore the evolution and mechanisms of aging in long-lived and short-lived species of bats and other mammals. In addition to her role as a research fellow, she received teaching pedagogy and leadership training from National Institutes of Health NY-CAPS IRACDA – a targeted program for the development of underrepresented minority scholars in biomedical research.

tlama@smith.edu · Smith faculty profile · Google Scholar · CV highlights

Graduate students

Portrait of Andrew Spencer

Andrew Spencer

M.S. student, Biological Sciences

Andrew studies the genomic and physiological adaptations of the golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus) to its desert environment.

Undergraduate researchers

Portrait of Beatrice Tauer

Beatrice Tauer

Honors thesis student

Beatrice’s honors thesis examines differential gene expression in the golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus).

Lab alumni

Where are they now?

Portrait of Blair P. Bentley, PhD

Blair P. Bentley, PhD

Postdoctoral researcher

Now: Visiting Assistant Professor, Smith College

Molecular ecologist studying how climate change shapes vulnerability and resilience, with a focus on marine taxa.

Portrait of Margaret (Margo) Weber, M.S. '25

Margaret (Margo) Weber, M.S. '25

Now: Ph.D. candidate, Teeling Lab, University College Dublin

Portrait of Mary Ann Martinez Molina '25

Mary Ann Martinez Molina '25

Now: Ph.D. student, Shaw Lab, University of Notre Dame

Portrait of Andrea Batista

Andrea Batista

Now: M.S. student, Genetics and Genomics, Universitat de Barcelona

Portrait of Zane Reedy

Zane Reedy

Now: Embryology Laboratory Assistant, RMA of New York

Past undergraduate researchers

Naomi de Lashmutt · Lucy Gould · Sarah Whitin · Ayesha Syar · Chelsie Wang · Laura Dreher · Sanjana Yasna · Valeria Bastardo Brito · Ninna Velasco · Sophia Kurtz · Hildana Shiferaw · Maggie Sullivan · Jeesung Kwon

If you're a Lab alum, send me an email with a picture and a career update to be featured on our lab webpage (tlama@smith.edu).