Current Lab Members

Jacquelyn M. Evans, PhD.
Principal Investigator

Dr. Evans is an Assistant Professor at the Baker Institute for Animal Health at Cornell University. She completed her Ph.D. in Genetics at Clemson University and postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health.

Shawna R. Cook, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate

Shawna is a postdoctoral researcher who completed her Ph.D. in a canine genetics lab at Purdue University. She has three dogs, Ada, Helix (pictured), and Oki, and enjoys competing in dog sports in her free time.

Arly Camila Armas Jimenez
PhD Student

Camila completed her master’s in Animal Science at Oklahoma State University and her bachelor’s in Biotechnology at Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas – ESPE in Ecuador, her home country. Her furry cat friend is called Lua, short for “Luna”, which means moon in Spanish. 

Jessica Schneider
PhD Student

Jess is investigating genetic associations with canine disorders, with an emphasis on multi-omic analyses of disease mechanisms. In her free time she enjoys swimming, hiking, and knitting/crocheting. She has a black cat named Stella who plays fetch.

Stacey Ma
DVM Student

Stacey is a veterinary student and lab technician with a B.S. in marine biology from UC San Diego and a Master in Health Administration from UIUC. Meet her favorite dog, Buddy. 

Berk Balkir

Berk is a Biochemistry and Economics undergraduate student. He plans on applying to medical school and becoming an ophthalmologist.

Kiera Goff

Kiera is a undergraduate student majoring in animal science with the goal of becoming a small animal veterinarian. Kiera has a boxer named Rory!

Anna Mobley

Anna is an undergraduate student majoring in animal science. She plans on becoming a small animal veterinarian and has two standard poodles (pictured here is Clementine).  

Leo Pieples

Leo is an undergraduate student studying biological sciences. He wants to become a small animal veterinarian and has a Great Pyrenees/Newfoundland mix named Charlie.

Alina Randolph

Alina is an undergraduate majoring in animal science. She plans to attend veterinary school to pursue research in canine genetics and human-wildlife interactions.

Lab Alumni

Former undergraduate students:

Marissa De León

Kaitlyn DeRosa

Former DVM trainees:

Samantha Lee