The Lab Crew

Our crew comprises passionate individuals who are dedicated to the research mission of the lab. Each member brings unique expertise and a shared commitment to advancing our understanding of amphibians, reptiles, and other critters. Together, we collaborate on key research and initiatives that contribute to the conservation of species and their habitats.

Meet the Crew

Donald B. Shepard

Principal Investigator

Dr. Shepard grew up in central Illinois and earned a BS in Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He earned a MS in Biology from Illinois State University and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Oklahoma. He completed post-doctoral training at Colorado State University and the University of Minnesota. Don has been a university professor since 2013 and came to the University of Arkansas in 2023. He has 25+ years experience researching the ecology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He has conducted fieldwork in many areas of the US, and has done research in Brazil since 2003, where he was a Fulbright US Scholar in 2024.

dshep@uark.edu

Madelyn Albritton

MS student

Maddy is from southern Arkansas and did her undergraduate degree at Louisiana Tech University. For her thesis research, she is working on mechanisms allowing coexistence of the slimy salamanders, Plethodon ouachitae and Plethodon kiamichi.

mnalbrit@uark.edu

Jack Powers

PhD student

Jack did his undergraduate and MS degrees at Georgia College & State University. His MS thesis research focused on spatial ecology and movement of rattlesnakes. His PhD research is on the ecology and conservation of Eastern Collared Lizards.

jp297@uark.edu

Allie Lindsey

Undergraduate research student

Allie is a Pre-Med Biology major from central Arkansas. She is using DNA barcode sequences to delimit species of borer moths (Papaipema) to test if current species-level taxonomy is supported by genetics.

aml047@uark.edu

Lee Underwood

Undergraduate Honors research student

Lee is a Honors Biology major from Missouri. He is assisting with surveys for collared lizards and documenting the amphibians and reptiles using open rocky habitats in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.

chaseu@uark.edu

Lab Alumni

Brock Stevenson (LATech MS 2023): Brock used coalescent-based species delimitation methods to test whether the Louisiana Slimy Salamander (Plethodon kisatchie) and the Mississippi Slimy Salamander (Plethodon mississippi) should be considered distinct species. He is currently a high school science teacher in Louisiana.
Makenzie Meacham (LATech MS 2023): Makenzie studied the phylogeography of Slimy Salamanders west of the Mississippi River to determine their diversity and distributions. She currently works in environmental consulting in Oregon.
Marcia Muller (UFMS/UNESP PhD): Marcia is a PhD student in Brazil and spent five months in our lab for her doctoral sandwich. She is working on the phylogeography of three South American turtles: Kinosternon scorpioides, Hydromedusa maximiliani, and Platemys platycephala. She is currently finishing her PhD.
Madelyn Albritton (LATech undergraduate): Maddy used DNA barcoding to identify borer moths (Genus Papaipema) from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and determine species richness. She is currently a MS student in our lab at the University of Arkansas.
Jasmine Lindsay (LATech undergraduate): Jasmine analyzed DNA sequences to determine how a newly discovered population of Southern Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon serratus) is related to other populations. She is currently a school teacher in Louisiana.
Drew Delahoussaye (LATech undergraduate): Drew sequenced the POMC nuclear gene to examine genetic diversity in the Caddo Mountain Salamander (Plethodon caddoensis).
Brianna Bassett (LATech undergraduate): Bri used GIS to identify landscape factors that predict spatial patterns of reptile road mortality around Carlyle Lake, Illinois, with an emphasis on the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus). She went on to earn her MS degree working with Mark Jordan at Purdue University-Fort Wayne. She is currently a Wildlife Biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Taylor Thomisee (LATech undergraduate): Taylor made a species distribution model for the Louisiana Slimy Salamander (Plethodon kisatchie) that we used to guide field surveys for the species. She is currently a MS student in Steve Mullin's lab at Arkansas State University.
Morgan Setliff (LATech undergraduate): Morgan worked on the conservation genetics of the Rattlesnake-Master Borer Moth (Papaipema eryngii). She is currently in medical school at LSU-Shreveport.
Simon Boycott (LATech MS 2020): Simon worked with Dr. Julia Earl and I to assess the status and distribution of Crawfish Frogs (Rana areolata) in Louisiana. He currently works in environmental consulting in northern California.
Cameron Robicheaux (LATech undergraduate): Cam worked on the phylogeography of Slimy Salamanders in the Interior Highlands (Ozark and Ouachita Mountains). She graduated medical school at LSU-Shreveport in 2025 and is doing her residency in New Orleans.
Dylan Heinz (LATech undergraduate): Dylan screened numerous nuclear loci for variation in the Caddo Mountain salamander (Plethodon caddoensis), and also helped with DNA extractions on our moth projects. He now works for the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab.
Jacob Harvey (LATech undergraduate): Jacob assisted with frog call surveys on the Crawfish Frog project.
Pedro Simoncini (LATech undergraduate): Pedro worked on the phylogeography of Slimy Salamanders in the Interior Highlands (Ozark and Ouachita Mountains). He graduated medical school at LSU-Shreveport in 2024 and is currently doing his residency in Charleston, South Carolina.
Ryan Philobos (LATech undergraduate): Ryan worked on the phylogeography of Slimy Salamanders in the Interior Highlands (Ozark and Ouachita Mountains). He earned his MS in Genetic Counseling at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and currently works as a genetic counselor in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Corey Samples (LATech undergraduate): Corey assisted with frog call surveys on the Crawfish Frog project and conducted an inventory of the amphibians and reptiles of Wafer Creek Ranch, a shortleaf pine-oak-hickory restoration site near campus. He went on to earn his MS working with Chris Beachy at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he is currently a Biology Instructor.
Kathryn Zaunbrecher (LATech undergraduate): Kathryn screened numerous nuclear loci for variation in the Rich Mountain Salamander (Plethodon ouachitae).
Alexandra Hahn (LATech undergraduate): Alex used multiple nuclear loci to examine potential cryptic species diversity in the Caddo Mountain salamander (Plethodon caddoensis). She is currently a Registered Nurse.
Amber Anderson (UCA MS 2018): Amber was an MS student in the Gifford Lab at the University of Central Arkansas. In our lab, she screened microsatellite markers and helped with lab work to determine the species identity and geographic origin of an introduced salamander in Illinois. She currently works in evironmental consulting in California.
Derek Filipek (UCA MS 2016): Derek worked on the rangewide phylogeography of the queensnake (Regina septemvittata) for his MS thesis. He currently works for the National Park Service on the Buffalo River in Arkansas.
Nick Ledbetter (UCA undergraduate): Nick conducted lab work for several projects, including one to determine the species identity and geographic origin of an introduced salamander in Illinois. He went on to get his PhD at the University of Tulsa working in Ron Bonett's lab. Nick is currently an Assistant Professor at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Michael Sutton (UCA undergraduate): Michael conducted lab work for a project on the phylogeography of Western Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon albagula). He went on to pharmacy school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and is now a pharmacist.