PhD Student

Trinity is a finishing PhD student studying mating behavior, communication, and hybridization in sympatric Phidippus jumping spiders. She is also passionate about science communication and outreach, especially regarding arachnids. In her free time, she enjoys salsa/bachata dancing, singing, searching for spiders, and tending to her many pets. Feel free to ask her a spider question at any time!

PhD Student

Lin is a graduate student in the lab who is interested in understanding the diversification of Habronattus jumping spiders. When she is not in the lab, she is busy playing sports, cooking, and conspiring to steal her friends’ cats.

See Lin’s Google Scholar here!

PhD Student

Jacob Gorneau is a PhD student in the Elias Lab and the EvoLab (Gillespie). He works primarily on arachnid evolution and systematics in the context of museum-based biology but enjoys connecting these topics to recent and geologic change, as well as putting these evolutionary relationships in the context of traits, such as behavior. In his free time he enjoys exploring bakeries, restaurants, hiking, and camping.

See Jacob’s personal website here!

PhD Student

Sophie is a PhD student at UC Berkeley. Her research interests lie at the interface of biomechanics, evolution, and comparative organismal biology. Sophie is fascinated by evolutionary diversity and the mechanistic tradeoffs found across species and sizes. This has led her to study the physics and evolution of unique biological movements, such as rapid scorpion strikes and agile jumping spider jumps. In her free time, she enjoys catching crayfish in Strawberry Creek and finding a good sunset spot.

See Sophie’s Google Scholar page here!

Postdoctoral Researcher

Noah is interested in how complex communication evolves, and how communication shapes animals’ ecological and evolutionary responses to global environmental change. In his free time, he also loves card games and sci-fi novels!

See Noah’s personal website here!

Lab Manager

Roxie is going into her 4th year as an undergrad at UC Berkeley. She studies Molecular Environmental Biology, and in her free time she likes to run, play music, and go to the park with her dog.

They are currently researching husbandry and maternal care for the Phidippus regius or the Regal Jumping Spider.

Undergraduate

Jasmine is going into their 3rd year as a UC Berkeley undergrad studying Molecular Environmental Biology. They enjoy playing music and hanging out with their cats, Ravioli and Bazooka.

Undergraduate

Nuala is a senior at cal from Los Angelos (Burbank). Some of her favorite hobbies include reading, thrifting and playing soccer. She loves being outside whether it’s hiking, going to the beach, or camping! She is really interested in animals and wants to work with endangered species in the future.

Undergraduate

Jiyun is a current junior studying Microbiology in the College of Natural Resources. She has been apart of the Elias Lab since my freshman summer and enjoys working with the spiders. Her role is to take care the spiders and help any graduate students with their personal projects. She’s happy to answer questions about lab work or being a student at Cal!

Undergraduate

Charlie is a 4th year psychology student finishing her undergrad. She hopes to pursue a masters in social work and is currently working and interested in harm reduction services in the Bay Area. She enjoys hiking, snowboarding, and foraging and plays saxophone for the Cal Marching Band!

Undergraduate

Anthony is a UC Berkeley student graduating in 2028. He likes praying mantises, playing the bass, and NBA highlight edits on tik-toks!

Undergraduate

Maxine just started at the Elias Lab after deciding to go back to school to get a post bachelors degree, she loves her dogs and cats! She loves making jewelry and doing arts and crafts, and her favorite food is peanut butter!

Ella is a Sophomore at UC Berkeley majoring in Society and Environment and Media Studies who loves Arthropods in any way shape and form! She loves baking, cooking, and making food for others, and is always super excited to be working with both her teammates and the creepy crawlies!

Undergraduate

Xizhe Wang (preferred name, Kevin) is in the Class of 2029, and from Shenzhen, China which is close to Hong Kong. He did all four years of high school in Virginia at a private boarding school, but what made him want come to west coast is Cal’s great academics. He’s excited to try living in California, especially since it’s a shorter flight to China. A fun fact about Kevin is that he is afraid of roller coasters but has been skydiving!

Undergraduate

Beck is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in Genetics and Plant Biology with aspirations of becoming a medical geneticist. Her goal is to work with cancer patients—an area of medicine that holds deep personal meaning, as cancer has profoundly impacted people close to her. She is passionate about understanding how genetic mechanisms drive disease and how advances in genomic medicine can lead to more targeted and compassionate care.

Undergraduate

Justine is a junior transfer student at Berkeley majoring in Molecular Environmental Biology. She recently transferred here from Orange Coast College in SoCal and also has a twin sister who goes there. She's been deeply involved in learning about California native plants, native bees, and most recently, spiders!

Undergraduate

Sylvia (she/her) is a first-year student at UC Berkeley majoring in Molecular Environmental Biology. She enjoys cooking, spending time outside, photography, and rewatching Little Women. A fun fact is that she has never worn a matching pair of socks before.

Jared is a 4th year at UC Berkeley majoring in Integrative Biology with a minor in Global Public Health. Something he enjoys is playing basketball and running. A fun fact is that he accidentally got stuck in Mexico in the summer before coming up to Berkeley.

animal care volunteer

During her undergraduate studies as a psychology major, she was introduced to neurobiology which, alongside caring for her own menagerie of invertebrates, deepened her intrigue for biodiversity and conservation, behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, and neuroethology as they relate to arthropods. Her inquisitive nature lends itself to multifaceted research interests, though at present, she is especially passionate about courtship and sexual selection, spider sociality, the maternal care exhibited by wolf spiders, and the evolutionary processes that generate diversity among arachnids.

Lab Alumni and Affiliate

Aaron graduated in 2021! He enjoys making art, sculptures, building, repairing, and organizing things. His ideal day involves talking with a spider and feeding a goat.

Lab Affiliate

Jacob Saffarian graduated from UC Berkeley in 2022. He currently works as a photographer and science communicator. His current obsession is astrophotography, and you can learn more about him on his website linked here!

“The Lab Lab”

Daphne is one year old lab who works endlessly to keep spirits high in the Elias lab. Whether it’s greeting every lab member at the door with kisses and cuddles or reminding everyone that there’s always time for a snack, Daphne is keeping everyone in check at the lab!

PhD Student in the Elias Lab (2014-2020)

Ignacio studies biomechanics and behavioral ecology and currently works as an assistant professor at University of Illinois - Chicago as an assistant professor. While Ignacio has published several papers with members of our lab and elsewhere, a standout paper is “Rapid recovery of locomotor performance after leg loss in harvestmen” which is also featured in our literature page! A fun fact about Ignacio is that in his time at Berkeley, he ate a lot of carnitas tacos from Taqueria Sinaloa. Click the link below to see his personal website.

PhD Student in the Elias Lab (2015-2020)

Benji studies sensory ecology, prey capture, and sexual selection and now teaches at Albany High School and is Founder of Joy Tutoring. Before his time with our lab, he received his bachelors from Dartmouth College in 2013. A fun fact about Benji is that he used to DM the lab’s Dungeons & Dragons campaign! To see his google scholar, click the link below.