People

Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and

Assistant Curator, Museum of Paleontology

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The lab research focuses on using biological and paleontological data to understand the ecology and evolution of species interactions and distributions. Dr. Swain's work spans a wide variety of systems, with special focus on the paleoecology of plant-insect interactions and the planktonic foraminifera.

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Office: Room No. 3164, Biological Sciences Building, 1105 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

Email: answain@umich.edu

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Léo is a current PhD student in the EEB department at the University of Michigan. After graduating from Aix-Marseille Université in 2022, he joined the MEME master's program and attended courses at multiple European universities. As part of these rotations, he also joined ongoing research projects in various fields, ranging from the speciation genomics of weevils to behavior in Heliconius butterflies. In the meantime, he conducted independent research focusing on the taxonomy of Buthid scorpions and the biomechanics of venom spraying. In his words, he curates and analyzes large biodiversity datasets to investigate the macroevolutionary processes that shape the modern biosphere. Outside the lab, you might catch him hiking, shooting film, or playing fingerstyle guitar!

David is an incoming PhD student in the Swain Lab at the University of Michigan. He is originally from Maine but has spent the past three years working on bark beetle research in Colorado. He graduated from Yale University in 2023. He has also worked on projects examining the response of pollinator communities to forest management. He is interested in plant-insect interactions and changes to ecological communities over time. In his free time, he enjoys trail running, baking, and playing board games.

Emily Smith is an undergraduate student studying Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity and Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience. She is interested in the evolution and behavior of animals. She spent the summer working as a Research Assistant studying cognitive evolution in paper wasps, where she adopted her pet wasp, Lulu. She is excited to expand her knowledge by working in the Swain lab. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, and hiking.  

Gabrielle Seib-Napolitan is a 4th-year undergraduate student studying Environmental Science, specializing in environmental/public health with a minor in Biology. She is interested in how the environment and its pollutants affect animal and human health. Over the summer, she worked alongside fellow research assistant Emily Smith, collecting data on the cognition and evolution of paper wasps. She wasp-sits for Emily’s pet wasp, Lulu, on occasion. At home in New Jersey, Gabby enjoys going on hikes and bike rides and spending time with her family and dogs, Cedar and Violet. At school in Michigan, she enjoys attending football games, squirrel-watching, and walks in the Arb. 

Tyler is a statistician specializing in spatial modeling, causal inference, and Bayesian statistics. His work focuses on developing algorithms and statistical methods for spatial data science. Through algorithm design, he seeks to better mathematically represent core spatial concepts such as process and scale. He holds a Master's degree in Geography from Arizona State University and a Bachelor's in Mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Alexa Hoogenstyn is a third-year undergraduate student in Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity and the Program in the Environment with hopes of going into conservation biology. Last summer she took ecology classes at the University of Michigan Biological Station. This summer, she is researching thermogenesis in several tree species in the Ann Arbor area for the Swain Lab. In her free time, she enjoys camping, going to trivia with her friends, watching horror movies, and visiting her family in Grand Rapids.

Yifanzi Zhu is a master’s student at the University of Michigan studying Landscape Architecture and Geospatial Data Science. Her research experience centers on spatial analysis, environmental data, and human–environment interactions across both natural and urban systems. In the Swain Lab, she is working with bird trait and climate-related datasets to better understand species responses to environmental change. More broadly, she is interested in ecological questions that connect biodiversity, landscape processes, and environmental change.

Kate Risley is a first-year undergraduate studying data science. She is interested in applying her mathematical and computational skills to analyze the effects of climate change on ecosystems and species. In her free time, she enjoys playing pickleball, going for walks in the arb, making charcuterie boards, and spending time with friends and family.

Vikraant is a second-year undergraduate studying Data Science with a minor in Mathematics. He is passionate about using statistical analysis and machine learning to build efficient and consistent predictive models. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, hanging out with friends, working out, and cooking. 

We are a new lab and are actively looking for people at all levels (undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers) to come and work with us. If you are interested, please reach out directly to Prof. Swain (answain@umich.edu).

RJ (Richard J.) Knecht's research focuses on terrestrial ecosystems, combining paleobiology, paleoecology, ichnology, and sedimentology to reconstruct fossil communities and evolutionary dynamics across time and space. He works with both exceptionally preserved specimens from Lagerstätten and more problematic fossil material, aiming to clarify the biology, behavior, and ecological roles of terrestrial organisms. His approach emphasizes interdisciplinary integration and the development and use of new and existing methods in imaging and analysis to improve the resolution and interpretation of complex fossil evidence. He obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2025.