IRACDA Scholar: Robert Burroughs, Ph.D.
Robert Burroughs
PhD: University of Chicago, Committee on Evolutionary Biology
IRACDA Placement: Department of Ecology & Evolution
Email: robert.burroughs@stonybrook.edu
Robert W. Burroughs is a Tejano, first-generation, student from a low-income background. He received his B.A. in Anthropology and M.S. in Geological Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010 and 2013 respectively, and his PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago in 2021. His dissertation research focused on identifying mechanisms underlying an evolutionary transition in the teeth of the living North American Sagebrush Vole (Lemmiscus curtatus) over the past 4 million years. Through this work, he identified rules of embryonic development that serve to direct and limit tooth evolution.
Robert’s postdoctoral work in Dr. Natasha Vitek’s Lab focuses on using lab mice, Mus musculus, to investigate how environmental shifts affect changes in tooth shape and structure, thereby linking embryonic developmental processes and evolutionary biology.
Why I chose to join Stony Brook IRACDA: What attracted me to the IRACDA NY-CAPS was the diversity of experience, research, and people within the program. Allowing me the opportunity to further develop my academic portfolio in research and teaching.