Kyana Montoya
M.S. Student
Year entered program: 2021
Department: Biology
Mentor: Christopher Witt, Ph.D.
Interests: Evolutionary BiologyAs an undergraduate, Kyana Montoya worked with the Natvig Lab under Paris Hamm, PhD candidate, as part of a project studying the prevalence of Coccidiodes in rodent lungs throughout the Southwest. She also participated in research through the Witt Lab under Jessie Williamson, PhD candidate, looking at avian elevational migration in the Andes. It was through this experience that Montoya found her interest in avian physiology and evolution. Before attending graduate school, she worked as a postbaccalaureate with Los Alamos National Laboratory's Bioscience Division. Her work focused on molecular laboratory methods associated with soil carbon cycling and drought tolerance. Montoya is currently pursuing her master's degree in Biology.
Montoya is interested in studying mitonuclear coevolution and its role in species distributions. She intends to use Audubon's Warblers as her study organisms. She received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue her interests working in the Witt Lab and the Museum of Southwestern Biology.
Department: Biology
Mentor: Christopher Witt, Ph.D.
Interests: Evolutionary Biology
Bio
Montoya is interested in studying mitonuclear coevolution and its role in species distributions. She intends to use Audubon's Warblers as her study organisms. She received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue her interests working in the Witt Lab and the Museum of Southwestern Biology.
