Dr. Nunez is an Assistant Professor of Biology and population geneticist interested in understanding the genetic basis of adaptation in wild populations. Learn more about his work by clicking here, or visiting his UVM profile or ORCID profile.

Katie is the Lab Manager of the Nunez Lab. She began working as a lab technician in the Biology Department at the University of Vermont in 2017, after completing her studies in environmental science at NVU-Johnson. She is an avid gardener, reader, and amateur forager.

Emily is a postdoctoral associate and marine evolutionary ecologist. She investigates adaptive variation in natural ecosystems using fieldwork, lab experiments, and genomics. In the Nunez lab, she’ll study adaptation in green urchins, barnacles, and fruit flies. Learn more here.

Andrew is an NSF GRFP fellow. His research focuses on the adaptive responses of marine organisms to multifactorial stressors. He uses echinoderms to investigate selection responses to thermal and immune stressors. 

Kit is interested in the genetics and ecology of how invasive insects adapt to new environments. Kit will be leading several projects focusing on Drosophila suzukii as a study system.

Corey is interested in how small organisms adapt to changing environments. They will be studying thermal selection in Drosophila melanogaster.

Alexia wants to explore the mechanisms underlying temperature-driven behavioral plasticity and stress responses. She will strive to address these issues using Drosophila melanogaster.

Luke Proud is a bioinformatician in the lab. He analyzes genomic data to investigate footprints of natural selection in worldwide genomes of Drosophila melanogaster. He contributes to the efforts of the DEST project.

Darius is interested in how the microbiome influences adaptation within populations. He will be studying the evolutionary relationship between Wolbachia and Drosophilia.

Ari will assist as a research technician on a number of projects studying population genetics in Drosophila.

Emma is a 2025/2026 Summer Research Fellow investigating the genetic basis of salinity acclimation on marine organisms. She is exploring the organismal and developmental cost of variations in salinity using green sea urchins. Emma is the recipient of a 2024 APLE award from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Devon is a 2025 PLHC Professional Development Fellow. She'll be examining the neurobiology of temperature-dependent food choice in Drosophila.

Ava is a 2026 Summer KKL Fellow majoring in Biology. She is studying the impact of Wolbachia on embryonic thermal tolerance in Drosophila, examining how the relationship between the endosymbiont and its host influences organismal responses to heat stress.

Noah is a 2026 Summer KKL Fellow majoring in Biology. He will be examining the impact of the endosymbiont Wolbachia on temperature-dependent food choice in Drosophila.

Sophie is an undergraduate researcher majoring in Biological Sciences. She will be assessing embryonic thermal tolerance in the invasive species Drosophila suzukii.

Amelia is an undergraduate researcher majoring in Biology. She​ is currently working to assess the correlation between altitude and the propensity for the offspring of Drosophila suzukii to enter their winter morph.

Maria is an undergraduate researcher majoring in Biological Sciences. She will help examine the temperature-dependent nutritional choice of Drosophila

Sarah is an undergraduate researcher majoring in Biological Sciences. She will be investigating embryonic tolerance and thermal selection in Drosophila melanogaster. 

Mya is an undergraduate researcher majoring in biochemistry. She will be assisting in exploring the neurobiology of temperature-dependent food choice in Drosophila.