Santiago Claramunt, PhD
Associate Curator of birds, Royal Ontario Museum
Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
I love science and nature, theory and fieldwork. My favourite birds are the South American ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Furnariidae). I obtained my biological sciences degree at the Universidad de la República, in Uruguay, and my PhD in Biology at Louisiana State University, followed by a postdoctoral position at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. I also worked at the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural of Uruguay. I’m a “museum guy.”
Oliver Haddrath
Ornithology Technician, Royal Ontario Museum
I have been working for the museum for almost 30 years, looking after one of the ROM’s molecular labs using DNA from a wide variety of birds and other animals to help understand the diversity of life, as well as, the conservation of endangered species. My undergraduate work was in molecular biology and my Masters focused on the large flightless birds, such as the ostrich, rheas, cassowaries, emu, kiwi and extinct moa; birds which are spread across the southern hemisphere. Being able to sequence their DNAs became the vital piece in the puzzle to resolve the mystery of their origins and biogeography.
Mark Peck
Ornithology Technician, Royal Ontario Museum
Talia Lowi-Merri
Masters Student, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto.
Talia is interested in the relationships between morphology, ecology, and function, especially in birds and their extinct relatives. She is an avid bird-watcher, science educator, and museum advocate.
Andrea Claramunt
Active member of the lab, Andrea is doing research on anything that flies, crawls, or swims. She is holding on writing her first paper until she learns how to write.
