BS Biological Sciences
BS Data Science
BS Biochemistry
BS Neuroscience
BS Geography or GIS
BS Statistics

-First Year Students (new to ASU Fall 2025)
-2nd Year Students
-3rd Year Students
-ASU Online Barrett Honors Students (fully remote work)

179

Tempe Fully remote/Remote considered

There are about 30,000 amniote vertebrate species, and nearly 10,000 of these species are reptiles. Reptiles display incredible diversity of morphological and physiological adaptations to their environments, compared with mammals and birds, but they have not been the focus on genomic or molecular studies. We have deciphered the genome of the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a hallmark species of the desert southwest that is threatened with habitat loss and disease. This recent work is described in this video. We have also completed the reference genome for the Sonoran desert tortoise (G. morafkai) and the Texas tortoise (G. berlandieri) and are using these data to study the effects of changes in the Colorado River and monsoon precipitation on the evolution of these species across the southwestern US. Students with interest or skills in computational biology or bioinformatics will work with researchers to further investigate the genetics of the desert tortoises.

Kusumi Lab

Scripting (R, Python) or coding skills preferred

Familiarity with command line platforms (UNIX, Linux, etc.)

Interest in applying computational approaches to conservation science

Kenro Kusumi

Tempe; Flexible to remote and/or in-person

Biological, Chemical, and Physical Sciences