Stefanie J Siller
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CV

Stefanie Siller CV

Education

2016 - present  Columbia University New York, NY                                                                                                                       
                            PhD candidate in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology
                            Advisor: Dustin Rubenstein
 
2014 – 2015     Columbia University New York, NY                                                                                                                         
                            Post-baccalaureate: Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology
 
2009 – 2013     Princeton University Princeton, NJ                                                                                                                                
                            Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology (High Honors)
                            Certificates: African Studies, Dance


Publications

Galante, P.J., K. Hade, S.J. Siller, N. Gazit, and S.K. Macey. 2020. Modeling suitable habitat for a species of conservation concern: an introduction to spatial analysis with QGIS. Lessons in Conservation 10(1):96–119. Available from ncep.amnh.org/linc.
 
Clark, J.A., S.J. Siller, and S.K. Macey. 2020. Bats in the city? An exploration of acoustic monitoring of bats. Lessons in Conservation 10(1):66–95. Available from ncep.amnh.org/linc.
 
Siller, S.J., and D.R. Rubenstein. 2019. A tissue comparison of DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (Nr3c1) in European starlings. Integrative and Comparative Biology 15(2): 264-272.
 
Bravo A, AL Porzecanski, JA Cigliano, S Siller, and E Betley. 2018. Applying critical thinking to an invasive species problem. Lessons in Conservation 8:52–65.
 
Gaynor KM, JW Solomon, S Siller, L Jessel, JE Duffy, and DR Rubenstein. 2017. Development of genome- and transcriptome-derived microsatellites in related species of snapping shrimps with highly duplicated genomes. Molecular Ecology Resource 6: e160-e173.

Teaching Experience & Development

2020 – 2021       Teaching Assessment Fellow, Columbia University
Support a teaching initiative that bridges conservation biology theory and practice by assessing and evaluating student learning, and presenting this data to inform future teaching practices.

2019 – present   Teaching Development Program: Advanced Track, Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning
Work with a community of peers to cultivate my teaching practices through a series of pedagogical training workshops, teaching observations, and completion of a capstone project
 
2017 – present   Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP), Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, AMNH
Assist in managing, researching, and writing updates for the NCEP module database for conservation learning and teaching resources; contribute to the journal Lessons in Conservation; investigate and curate open access resources
 
2019 – 2020       Lead Teaching Fellow, Columbia University
Promote development of graduate student pedagogical practices by organizing workshops and facilitating teaching development opportunities; act as a liaison between the department and Center for Teaching and Learning
 
Fall 2019            Course Design Seminar, Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning                         
In this 4-week course, explored evidence-based, inclusive instructional design practices to create a learner-centered syllabus for a course on Behavioral Endocrinology
 
Spring 2019       EEEB3019 Principles of Animal Behavior, Columbia University – TA
In this 10-person seminar, led weekly paper discussion groups, graded and provided feedback on weekly reflection papers, wrote and graded the midterm exam, assisted in student development of final literature review papers, and taught one lecture
 
Fall 2018            EEEB2001 Environmental Biology I, Columbia University – TA
In this mid-sized lecture course, co-led weekly recitation groups, contributed to and graded exams, and taught one lecture
 
Summer 2018    NCEP Conservation Teaching and Learning Studio
Participated in a 3-day workshop on developing and using evidence-based teaching strategies and techniques, translating passive teaching styles into active, and integrating active teaching into the classroom
 
Spring 2017        EEEB2002 Environmental Biology II, Columbia University – TA, Lab Instructor
In this lecture and lab course, led weekly lab experiments for 14 students, and graded and provided feedback on lab reports    
 
Summer 2012     Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs – Teacher                                        
Designed and implemented lessons plans, experiments and activities at 7 primary schools; assisted in coordinating and organizing Community Conservation Day for over 300 individuals; launched a computer course at Mpala Primary School for 15 students, grades 4-5  

Grants and Fellowships

2019     Lead Teaching Fellowship, Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning ($2000)
2019     Small Grants Program for Local and Regional Outreach Promoting the Understanding of Evolutionary Biology, Society for the Study of  
              Evolution (with S. Shah) ($500)
2019     ABS Outreach Grant, Animal Behavior Society (with S. Shah) ($895)
2018     Van Tyne Award, American Ornithological Society ($2500)
2016     Columbia University E3B Pre-Dissertation Research Grant ($3000)
2016     NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, DGE-16-44869
2016     Columbia University Dean’s Fellowship

Presentations and Posters

Siller SJ, Rubenstein DR. A tissue comparison of DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (Nr3c1) in European starlings, American Ornithological Society, Anchorage AK, Jun 26-28 2019.
 
Siller SJ, Rubenstein DR. Methylation in the GR Promoter in the Brain and Blood of the European starling, International Ornithological Congress, Vancouver CA, Aug 19-26 2018.
 
Jaguar Conservation in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco. ZACC, Jacksonville FL. Jan 24, 2018.
 
Project Neofelis: a New Flagship Species. ZACC, Jacksonville, FL. Jan 24, 2018.
 
Siller SJ. Kuhifadhi Mazingira: Cultivating Conservation Knowledge in Rural Kenyan Schools, Clubs, and Communities. SCCS-NY, American Museum of Natural History, New York NY. Oct. 11-13, 2017.
 
Siller SJ. NYC pretzels versus birdseed: Social environment influences food preference in feral NYC pigeons. Barnard Summer Research Institute, Barnard College, New York NY. Jan. 30, 2015.

Field Skills & Experience

Skills: Wildlife trapping (mist-nets, ground traps and trapping in nest boxes); banding and measuring birds; behavioral observations; wildlife transect surveys; biological sampling (blood, fecal, and sperm); euthanizing via isoflurane; tissue dissection

Spring 2019        PhD Research – Heidinger Lab, NDSU, Fargo ND
Conducted field work on house sparrows as part of a project assessing impacts of parental and post-natal stress on offspring growth, development, stress response, DNA methylation, and telomere length
 
Spring 2017        PhD Research – Hudson Highlands, Cornwall NY
Trapped and sampled European starlings as part of a project to determine the use of blood as a non-lethal biomarker for DNA methylation markers in the brain
 
Spring 2016        PhD Research – Hudson Highlands, Cornwall NY
Set up field site of 100 nest boxes as pilot study to assess pre- and post-natal effects of stress on offspring in European starlings
 
2014 – 2015       Research Scientist – Calisi Lab, Barnard College, New York NY
Ran behavioral study on impact of social environment on pigeon foraging strategies in an urban environment; developed scan sampling survey to evaluate pigeon densities
                         
2013 – 2014       Princeton in Africa Fellow – Mpala Research Centre, Laikipia Kenya
Conducted field work to assess breeding and nest behavior of Von der Decken’s hornbills; conducted three wildlife transect surveys

Lab Skills & Experience

Skills: RNA and DNA tissue and blood extraction; bisulfite conversion; enzymatic methyl-seq hybridization; pyrosequencing; cryostat tissue dissection; PCR; cresyl violet staining; analytics using Geneious and R

2016 – present   PhD Research – Rubenstein Lab, Columbia University, New York NY
Assessing expression and DNA methylation patterns in blood, brain (hippocampus and hypothalamus), and liver using pyrosequencing and methyl-seq probe hybridization techniques to determine impacts of developmental stress on the methylome        
 
2015 – 2016       Research Scientist –Rubenstein Lab, Columbia University, New York NY
Used pyrosequencing to assess DNA methylation in Nr3C1 promoter in superb starlings to assess adaptive mechanisms to unpredictable environmental conditions; developed genome- and transcriptome-derived microsatellites for Synalpheus shrimp

Work Experience

2017 – 2018       Society for the Preservation of Endangered Carnivores and their International Ecological Study – Program Director
Coordinated and collated updates from global projects and teams; created, edited, and managed monthly newsletter Carnivore Connection; hired and managed intern team for social media, fundraising, networking and education; represented and presented for S.P.E.C.I.E.S. at conferences (ex. ZACC, SSCS-NY); managed and updated website through WordPress, including writing & editing entries; connected and maintained relationships with new partners and fundraising collaborators
 
2013 – 2014       Mpala Research Centre, Laikipia Kenya – Princeton in Africa Fellow                              
Outreach Coordinator
Organized talks to facilitate information sharing between researchers and the community; assisted in production, writing, and photo editing for the Annenberg-funded Mpala Live! Program; coordinated and evaluated after-school conservation and wildlife education programs at 11 rural public Kenyan schools; implemented “Mpala Girls Empowerment Project” including lecture series, shadowing opportunities and graduate internships to provide mentorship and conservation education for young women
                         
Assistant to Director
Edited and contributed to Mpala Memos newsletter; managed the Adopt-an-Elephant Program, composing quarterly updates on elephant behavior; maintained relationships with researchers and donors, and compiled donation reports on Salesforce

Mentorship

Spring 2020        Mentoring in the Sciences: Tools, Tips, and Techniques for Being an Effective Mentor
Developed resource for graduate students to use in order to develop and enhance their mentoring skills for current and future practice
 
Fall 2019            Connect, Share, Learn: Enhancing the E3B TA Experience
Organized and led workshop for peers in the department to share TA experiences with incoming TAs and learn to implement Universal Design for Learning techniques in their teaching
 
2017                   Mentored undergraduate Arden Berlinger in learning lab techniques and protocols, including PCR and pyrosequencing, and contributing to lab project studying epigenetic markers in European starlings

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