JESSICA E. LIGHT
ADDRESS:
Department of Biological Sciences and Phone: (225) 578-5393
Museum of Natural Science Fax: (225) 578-3075
119 Foster Hall email: jlight2@lsu.edu
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
BACKGROUND:
Born 24 March 1976 in Royal Oak, Michigan
EDUCATION:
1998. B.S. in Resource Ecology and Management, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1998. B.S. in Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
2005. Ph.D. expected in Zoology, Louisiana State University.
Major areas of study: Systematics, evolution, mammalogy, parasitology.
(Major Advisor: Mark S. Hafner)
SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS:
In press. Burreson, E.M., J.E. Light and J.I. Williams.
2005. Redescription of Cystobranchus virginicus Hoffman,
1964 and Cystobranchus salmositicus (Meyer, 1946) comb.
n. (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) from freshwater fishes in North
America. Comparative Parasitology.
In press. Hafner, M.S., J.E. Light, D.J. Hafner, S.V. Brant, T.A.Spradling, and J.W. Demastes. Cryptic species in the Mexican pocket gopher Cratogeomys merriami. Journal of Mammalogy.
2005 Light, J.E., A. Fiumera, and B. Porter. 2005. Egg feeding in the freshwater piscicolid leech, Cystobranchus virginicus (Annelida: Hirudinea). Invertebrate Biology 124 (1): 51-57.
2004 Hafner, M.S., T.A. Spradling, J.E. Light, D.J. Hafner, and J.R. Demboski. Systematic revision of pocket gophers of the Cratogeomys gymnurus species group. Journal of Mammalogy 85 (6): 1170-1183.
2003 Demastes, J.W., A.L. Butt, M.S. Hafner, and J.E. Light. Systematics of a rare species of pocket gopher, Pappogeomys alcorni. Journal of Mammalogy 84(2): 753-761.
1999 Light, J.E. and M.E. Siddall. Phylogeny of the leech family Glossiphoniidae based on mitochondrial gene sequences and morphological data. Journal of Parasitology 85(5): 815-823.
In Prep. Light, J.E. and M.S. Hafner. Extensive cophylogeny between Mexican pocket gophers and their chewing lice.
In Prep. Light, J.E. and M.S. Haffner. Phylogeny of Geomydoecus chewing lice parasitizing pocket gophers in the Cratogeomys merriami species complex.
AWARDS, GRANTS, AND HONORS:
2005. Scholarship to attend the Workshop on Molecular
Evolution at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole ($400)
2004. Best Graduate Student Award. Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University.
2004. Meritorious Student Paper Award. Seventy-ninth Annual Meeting of The American Society of Parasitologists, Pennsylvania.
2004. Louisiana State University Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship (2004-2005).
2004. Candidate for the Ernst Mayr Award (Society for Systematic Biologists).
2004. Marc Dresden Travel Grant ($450) to present dissertation research at the Seventy-ninth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2004. McDaniel Travel Award ($825; Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University) to present research at the annual Evolution meeting, Fort Collins, Colorado.
2004. Anna M. Jackson Award ($600; American Society of Mammalogists honorarium) to present research at the plenary session of the annual ASM meeting. Humboldt, California.
2003. National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant ($12,000) for project titled: "Systematics and Host-Parasite Associations of Rodent-Restricted Sucking Lice (Anoplura: Polyplacidae): Fahrenholzia lice and their Heteromyid Rodent Hosts" (2003-2005).
2003. Marc Dresden Travel Grant ($450) to present dissertation research at the Seventy-eighth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists in Halifax,Canada.
2003. Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University award ($150) for summer meeting travel.
2003. Graduate School at Louisiana State University award ($150) for summer meeting travel.
2002. National Sigma Xi Grant-In-Aid award ($600) to investigate cophylogeny between sucking lice and their heteromyid hosts (2002-2003).
2002. Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University award ($150) for summer meeting travel.
2002. Graduate School at Louisiana State University award ($150) for summer meeting travel.
2002. Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund of the American Museum of Natural History award ($1500) to investigate cophylogeny between sucking lice and their heteromyid hosts (2002-2003).
2002. Louisiana State University Biology Grad Student Association award ($600) to investigate coevolution between sucking lice and their heteromyid hosts, and travel to summer meetings (2002-2003).
2001. Louisiana State University Biology Grad Student Association award ($250) to investigate coevolution between sucking lice and their heteromyid hosts (2001-2002).
2001. Sigma Xi Louisiana State University Chapter Grant-in-Aid of Research Honorable Mention award ($100) to investigate coevolution between sucking lice and their rodent hosts (2001-2002).
2001. Louisiana State University Biology Grad Student Association award ($200) to investigate coevolution between sucking lice and their mammalian hosts (2001-2002).
2000. Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund of the American Museum of Natural History award ($1000) to investigate cospeciation between heteromyid rodents and their sucking lice (Anoplura) (2000-2001).
2000. Louisiana State University Biology Grad Student Association award ($150) to investigate leech biology and phylogenetics (2000-2001).
1998. Meritorious Student Paper Award. Seventy-third Annual Meeting of The American Society of Parasitologists, Hawai'i.
1998. Marc Dresden Travel Grant ($400) to present undergraduate research at the Seventy-third Annual Meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Hawai'i.
1998. CIC Women in Science and Engineering Initiative Travel Grant ($250) to present undergraduate research at the Seventy-third Annual Meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Hawai'i.
1998. The University of Michigan Department of Biology award ($250; matched CIC WISE funds) to present undergraduate research at the Seventy-third Annual Meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Hawai'i.
1998. NSF award (DEB-9840369) to Dr. Siddall (University of Michigan) ($3000) to support undergraduate research project on leech phylogenetics (1998).
TALKS PRESENTED:
2004. Extensive Cophylogeny between Mexican Pocket Gophers
and their Parasitic Chewing Lice. Seventy-ninth Annual Meeting
of the American Society of Parasitologists, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2004. Extensive Cophylogeny between Mexican Pocket Gophers and their Parasitic Chewing Lice. Evolution 2004 (Joint Meeting: The Society for the Study of Evolution, The American Society of Naturalists, and The Society for Systematic Biologists), Fort Collins, Colorado.
2004. Two New Species of Pocket Gophers from Mexico; Extensive Cophylogeny Between Gophers and Chewing Lice. Eighty-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists, Arcata, California.
2004. Extensive Cophylogeny between Mexican Pocket Gophers and their Parasitic Chewing Lice. McDaniel Travel Award Symposium, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2003. Molecular Systematics and Cophylogeny in Rodent-Restricted Sucking Lice (Anoplura: Polyplacidae). BioGrads Symposium, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2003. Molecular Systematics and Cophylogeny in Rodent-Restricted Sucking Lice (Anoplura: Polyplacidae). Seventy-eighth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Halifax, Canada.
2003. Systematics of Two Pocket Gopher Assemblages in Mexico. Museum of Natural Science Seminar, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2002. Systematics of the Cratogeomys gymnurus species complex based on morphological data. Eighty-second Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists, Lake Charles, Louisiana.
2002. Systematics of the Cratogeomys gymnurus species complex based on morphological data. Evolution 2002 (Joint Meeting: The Society for the Study of Evolution, The American Society of Naturalists, and The Society for Systematic Biologists), Champaign, Illinois.
2002. Cophylogeny between Fahrenholzia (Anoplura: Polyplacidae) and their heteromyid rodent hosts and preliminary systematics of Polyplacidae based on molecular data. The Second International Congress on Phthiraptera, Brisbane, Australia.
2002. Cophylogeny between Fahrenholzia (Anoplura: Polyplacidae) and their heteromyid rodent hosts and preliminary systematics of Polyplacidae based on molecular data. The Tenth International Congress of Parasitology, Vancouver, Canada.
2001. Coevolution between sucking lice and their mammalian hosts using molecular data. Systematics, Ecology, and Evolution Seminar, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1999. Phylogeny of the leech family Glossiphoniidae based on mitochondrial gene sequences and morphological data. BioGrads Symposium, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State Univeristy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1999. Phylogeny of the leech family Glossiphoniidae based on mitochondrial gene sequences and morphological data. Museum of Natural Science Seminar, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1998. Phylogeny of the leech family Glossiphoniidae based on mitochondrial gene sequences and morphological data. Seventy-third Annual Meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists, Kona, Hawai'i.
POSTERS PRESENTED:
1999. Phylogeny of the leeches based on molecular and
morphological data. Evolution 1999 (Joint Meeting: The Society
for the Study of Evolution, The American Society of Naturalists,
and The Society for Systematic Biologists), Madison, Wisconsin.
ABSTRACTS PRESENTED:
1998. Montagnini, M.L., N.B. Alexander, L.V. Nyquist,
J.E. Light, J.C. Grunawalt, R.S. Keller, D.A. Finch, and D.L.
Snow. Mobility strategies in hospitalized older adults. Journal
of the American Geriatrics Society 46: S103.
1997. Montagnini, M.L., N.B. Alexander, L.V. Nyquist, J.E. Light, J.C. Grunawalt, R.S. Keller, D.A. Finch, and D.L. Snow. Mobility performance of older adults in their hospital room. Journal of the American Geriatric Society 45: S64.
1997. Alexander, N.B., M.L. Montagnini, L.V. Nyquist, J.E. Light, J.C. Grunawalt, R.S. Keller, D.A. Finch, and D.L. Snow. Gap between self-report and performance-based disability assessment in hospitalized elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 45: S38.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE:
Service to scientific organizations:
o Board of Directors, American Society of Mammalogists
(2004-2007)
o Member of the Department of Biological Sciences Seminar Committee
(2002)
o Primary organizer of the Museum of Natural Science Seminar Series
(2000-2001)
o Second Vice President, Biology Graduate Student Association.
Responsible for organizing the BioGrads Fall 2000 Symposium (event
featuring research of Graduate Students in the Department of Biology)
Membership in scientific organizations:
o American Society of Parasitologists (Member since 1997)
o American Society of Mammalogists (Member since 1999)
o Society of Systematic Biologists (Member since 1999)
o American Microscopical Society (Member since 2004)
o Graduate Women in Science National and Omega Chapter (Member
for 2003)
Reviewer:
o American Midland Naturalist (2001)
o Comparative Parasitology (2002, 2004)
o Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (2003)
o American Museum of Natural History Scientific Publications (2003)
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
o Presented mammal material to children at the Presbyterian
Day School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2001)
o Presented leech biology material to children at the Museum of
Natural Science's monthly Special Saturday series (2000)
o Presented habitat diversity and leech biology material to children
at Dalton Elementary School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2000)
o Presented marine biology material to children of Louisiana in
connection with Louisiana State University's "Ocean Commotion"
symposium (1999)
o Presented leech biology material to children at Prescott Middle
School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1999)