Elizabeth Murray, Ph.D.
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Washington State University |
The Murray Lab at WSU website is the updated site for the lab & current activities.
Professional Interests:
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I reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of various groups within Hymenoptera (the insect order comprising the sawflies, wasps, ants, and bees) in order to study phylogenetic relationships and patterns of evolution. The Hymenoptera are one of the most speciose orders of insects, so systematists are continually describing new species, finding fossils, and uncovering new biological life histories. My current research centers on the relationships and evolution of Aculeata (the stinging hymenopterans -- ants, bees and wasps). I work with phylogenomic methods, molecular dating, diversification, historical biogeography, and comparative analyses.
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Building the lab group at Washington State University!
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Academic Life, Coast to Coast:
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As of FEBRUARY 2020, I've moved to Pullman, Washington! I joined the Department of Entomology as the Telford Family Professor & Director of the M.T. James Entomological Collection.
I'll be recruiting students and postdocs for my lab. If you view the world through a phylogenetic lens and want to pursue research on Hymenoptera, please contact me to discuss [ e.murray @ wsu.edu ]. Please visit The Murray Lab at WSU website for more up-to-date happenings! |
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August 2018 - Jan 2020, I am a postdoc at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC) in the lab of Seán Brady [website], Department of Entomology. My primary research project is on phylogenomics of Chrysidoidea, and I'm also working on some other Hymenoptera groups.
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male Kapala wasp
From January 2018 - July 2018 & from June 2016 - August 2017, I worked as a postdoc at Cornell University in the lab of Bryan Danforth [website], Department of Entomology. My research project involves the phylogenomics of aculeates.
In the fall semester of 2017 (Aug-Dec), I was a lecturer at Cornell University for the course 'Insect diversity and evolution', in the Department of Entomology. You can check out the class web project: Insects of Cornell.
October 2014 - May 2016. I was hired as a lecturer at Cornell to develop a course, Model-based phylogenetics and hypothesis testing, which I taught for two semesters. I emphasized practical knowledge of phylogenetic and comparative methods, with a foundation in theoretical aspects and the background needed to run a chosen analytical package successfully and correctly.
From 2008 - 2014, I was earning my PhD at the University of California, Riverside, in the lab of John Heraty [website], Department of Entomology. For my dissertation [pdf], I worked on the systematics and evolutionary history of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), which is the only insect family composed solely of ant parasitoids. I focused on the genus Kapala, found mainly in the Neotropics.
From 2004-2007, I was at Kansas State University. I got a master's degree in Entomology (with Ralph Charlton and Yoonseong Park) and after, worked as the Insect Diagnostician for the state of Kansas & as a tech in Jeremy Marshall's cricket lab. I studied phylogenetic relationships of tarantulas of the south-central US-- the Aphonopelma hentzi complex. It was at this point I first worked in a molecular lab and learned all about PCR and sequencing from Dr. Park.
In the fall semester of 2017 (Aug-Dec), I was a lecturer at Cornell University for the course 'Insect diversity and evolution', in the Department of Entomology. You can check out the class web project: Insects of Cornell.
October 2014 - May 2016. I was hired as a lecturer at Cornell to develop a course, Model-based phylogenetics and hypothesis testing, which I taught for two semesters. I emphasized practical knowledge of phylogenetic and comparative methods, with a foundation in theoretical aspects and the background needed to run a chosen analytical package successfully and correctly.
From 2008 - 2014, I was earning my PhD at the University of California, Riverside, in the lab of John Heraty [website], Department of Entomology. For my dissertation [pdf], I worked on the systematics and evolutionary history of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), which is the only insect family composed solely of ant parasitoids. I focused on the genus Kapala, found mainly in the Neotropics.
From 2004-2007, I was at Kansas State University. I got a master's degree in Entomology (with Ralph Charlton and Yoonseong Park) and after, worked as the Insect Diagnostician for the state of Kansas & as a tech in Jeremy Marshall's cricket lab. I studied phylogenetic relationships of tarantulas of the south-central US-- the Aphonopelma hentzi complex. It was at this point I first worked in a molecular lab and learned all about PCR and sequencing from Dr. Park.
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Women's Work SEries
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