The McKenna Lab
Revealing the Ecology, Evolution & Genomic Basis of Insect Biodiversity Through Field, Laboratory & Collections-Based Research
Overview
People: Professor & Principal Investigator Duane McKenna, Postdocs (Rongrong Shen, Na Ra Shin, Lynette Strickland, and Terrence Sylvester), PhD Research Associates (Rich Adams, Cristian Beza, Dave Clarke, Stephanie Haddad, Xuankun Li & Seunggwan Shin), Graduate (PhD) students (Michael Charles, Soohyun Jeong), Undergraduates, and other lab members.
Research: Insect-plant interactions, insect systematics and evolution with a focus on beetles (order Coleoptera), geographic patterns of diversity and endemism (worldwide), biodiversity conservation, general natural history, genome evolution, pollination, and the ecology, evolution and genomic basis of plant-feeding. Research in my lab is immediately relevant to agriculture, forestry, and the sudy and conservation of biodiversity.
Affiliation: Center for Biodiversity Research (CBio) in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Memphis—a leading metropolitan research and teaching institution in Memphis, TN, USA.
October 2023: The McKenna Lab is searching for a postdoc in insect genomics and evolution. Contact for questions: Duane McKenna (dmckenna@memphis.edu)
Word collage based on abstracts of
papers published by the McKenna
Lab; made with www.wordle.net
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Have an idea for a collaborative project? Want to discuss getting involved in an existing project? Contact Dr. McKenna
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
Antarctic beetles have diversified in isolation for over 50 million years... See our recent paper in PNAS.
STUDENTS & POSTDOCS
Seeking a lab in which to pursue postdoctoral research or graduate studies?
CENTER FOR BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH (CBio)
CBio offers a wide range of opportunities in biodiversity science & education for researchers & students