Dr. Colston is an Assistant Professor in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez

Curriculum Vitae – Updated February 2025

Dr. Colston’s Google Scholar Profile

David is a first generation college graduate and holds a BSc in Conservation Biology & Ecology from Arizona State University. He’s held positions with agencies such as the U.S Forest Service and The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where he collaborated in a wide array of research projects concerning the federally endangered Mountain Yellow Legged Frog. His broad research interests align with behavioral ecology, phenology, and population ecology with an emphasis on herpetofauna. His Master’s research is towards developing an eDNA assay protocol to better detect the presence and potential abundance of the federally endangered Puerto Rican boa and to differentiate eDNA samples from invasive species such as boa constrictors and reticulated pythons. 

Edgardo holds a BSc in Environmental Microbiology from the University of Puerto Rico in Arecibo where he worked with Profs. Gualberto Rosado and Eneilis Mulero studying fungi associated with reptiles. For his Masters work he is focusing on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of hawksbill sea turtles and how it the microbiome is influenced by diet and seasonality. He is also less than 1/2 of the largest reticulated python we have processed in the lab.

Felnor’s research interest lie in genetics and gene regulatory networks. For his Masters he is leveraging his background in herpetoculture and private industry to use CRISPR CAS9 and Anolis to trace known mutations in phenotypes and develop novel technologies with industrial applications. In the future he hopes to apply these tools in snake systems.

Jeidy joined the Lab in 2024, coming from the Entomology Lab of Dr. Alex Van Dam, who was her primary advisor until moving positions. For her Masters research Jeidy is using automated geometric morphometrics to distinguish between closely related species of Colpoptera.

Rosie joined the Lab in 2024, coming from the Entomology Lab of Dr. Alex Van Dam, who was her primary advisor until moving positions. For her Masters research Rosemary is investigating the microbiome community structure of three sympatric millipede species in Puerto Rico.

Blue holds a BSc in Biology from the University of Montevallo in Alabama. Blue is a huge fan of the intersections of ecology and microbiology and an avid herper. For their Masters work in the lab Blue is primarily going to focus on the oral microbiome and venom of the Puerto Rican Racer. 

Yei holds a BSc in Industrial Microbiology from UPR-Mayagüez and is our Lab Manager in addition to being a graduate student. Yei is incredibly passionate about integrating aspects of Ecology, Environmental Toxicology, and Biochemistry. Her interests lie in host-microbiome interactions in herps, especially in amphibians, to understand evolutionary mechanisms and aid in conservation efforts. For her Masters work Yei is investigating microbial contribution to toxin production in amphibians, continuing on work she began as an undergrad in the lab. In addition to fieldwork in PR Yei was able to spend the summer of 2024 in Ecuador working with collaborators in Dr. Justin Yeager’s lab studying poison frogs!

Alanis is conducting a study of the microbiome of invasive cane toads and the bacteria present in their toxin-producing glands. Alanis will be conducting research abroad in Spain during spring 2025.

Alondra has recently joined the Lab and is still developing projects. Stay tuned!

Danna has recently joined the Lab and is still developing projects around disease monitoring in invasive snakes. Stay tuned!

Jean is a computer science major with a keen interest in Biology. He has just joined the lab and will be helping us to set up some of our genomics and metagenomics pipelines.

Marissabel joined the lab in 2024 and has a keen passion for Marine Biology and all things at the intersection of Ecology and Evolution. She is our lab’s primary data entry/QC specialist and has been working to update the Lab databases and that of the Genomic Resources Collection. After graduating she plans to pursue graduate studies centered around studying fish communities and the impact of sargassum blooms in the Caribbean.

Stephanie has recently joined the Lab and is still developing projects. Stay tuned!

Verónica’s undergraduate research is focused on disease ecology within the invasive Boa constrictor population in Puerto Rico. She is documenting the distribution of Inclusion Body Disease (IBD) in wild B. constrictor using qPCR and histology. Verónica’s research has been supported by grants from the PR Hurricane Fiona BOOST initiative, PR-LSAMP and PR INBRE.

Viviana has recently joined the Lab and is still developing projects. Stay tuned!

Jacob’s research interests lie in Herpetology and the fungal microbiome of reptiles. For his Masters research characterized fungal and bacterial skin microbiome of cave populations of the federally endangered Puerto Rican Boa. Before joining the Lab Jacob completed undergraduate research projects on White Nose Syndrome in bats and the spread of the Spotted Lantern Fly in Pennsylvania in the Overton Lab at Lock Haven University. Jacob’s MS research was supported by grants from the Sunset Zoo in MO and Herpetological Conservation International.

Laura defended her Masters in 2024 and was the first official MADDReptiles Lab graduate student! Laura came from the Entomology Lab of Dr. Alex Van Dam, who was her primary advisor until moving positions. Laura’s research focused on the genome assembly and annotation of the Coffee Bean Weevil (Araecerus fasciculatus), which is a global pest of stored food products.

Airi graduated with her BS in Biology in 2024 and is now in a postbac program at Ohio State University. In the Lab Airi characterized the microbiome of captive vs wild reticulated pythons using amplicon sequencing. While in her postbac she will be working on writing up the paper so stay tuned!

Yei completed her BS in Industrial Microbiology in 2024. During her undergraduate research she completed an NSF REU at Rutgers University which was recently published. In our Lab she developed a research project focused on bacterial contribution to toxin production in Cuban tree frogs and her work was supported by a grant from PR-LSAMP. She is now expanding this work and conducting graduate studies in the Lab. She is also our resident artist and graphic designer of the Lab Logo and much of the art used on this website!

Lina completed her BS in Industrial Biology in 2024. Lina spent two semesters in the lab and focused on characterizing the microbiome of captive vs wild reticulated pythons using culture-based approaches. She is now in a postbac at Brown University.

Yoshua graduated with his BS in Biology in 2024 and is now in the US Navy. In the lab he developed a research project looking at the microbiome of sea sponges.

Amanda completed her BS in Biology 2022 and is now in a Masters program in Madrid. Her research in the Lab focused on the gut microbiome of Anolis.

Amanda graduated in 2023 with a BS in Biology. Her research project in the Lab focused on the gut microbiome of leaf litter geckos (Sphaerodactylus).

Rosa graduated in 2023 with a BS in Biology. Her research project in the lab focused on the microbiome of Hawksbill Sea Turtles and their main prey (sea sponges).