Members

Christopher B. Sturdy (he/him) Principal Investigator

Professor for the Psychology Department at the University of Alberta. Canada Research Chair in animal Cognition, Communication, and Neuroethology. In my free time I enjoy walking the dogs, cooking/eating the food, and lifting the weights #mswarrior.

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Prateek Sahu (he/him)

Currently a PhD student after finishing my Masters’ with the SNL. My research interests include animal behaviour & cognition, and mechanism of behaviour. I have worked with ants, fishes and fruit flies during my undergrad and hold a Masters’ in biological sciences. I enjoy photography, reading books, and cooking.

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Moriah Deimeke (she/they)

I joined the SNL as a MSc student in the fall of ’21. I completed my undergraduate degree at New College of Florida, the state’s honors college, studying Biological Psychology. After, I continued pursuing sensory, cognitive, and communication research there as psychology lab technician and lab manager. At the University of Alberta, my primary research interests include interspecies perception, contact calling, intrinsic motivation, and the underlying neural mechanisms of communication. Over the years, I have had the privilege to work with many marine mammals, reptiles, horses (as well as other livestock/domestic animals), – and, now, birds!

Outside of research, my passions include writing, community building/support, conservation/animal welfare, hiding in the histology lab, being in natural spaces, and drinking way too much coffee. ☕

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Katharine Stenstrom (she/they)

I am a MSc. student starting my second year in the fall of ‘22. I’m a huge Chickadee fan! I completed my undergrad degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studying Integrative Biology. I was a field tech and independent undergrad researcher. I’m a birder in my free time.

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Sarah Smeltz (she/her)

I joined the Songbird Neuroethology Lab in 2020 while completing my undergraduate degree. Recently, I completed my undergraduate thesis on Black-capped chickadee chick-a-dee call convergence within laboratory colony rooms. I’m very happily returning to the SNL this September 2022 as lab manager, and am eager to continue working with such an amazing team. In my spare time I’m an avid reader, and enjoy, hiking, canoeing, and photography.

Erin Scully (she/her)

I obtained both my MSc and PhD from the SNL. I like to consider myself a semi-professional catsitter and amateur weight lifter. I have a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Most of my research at the SNL surrounded cognitive and behavioural neuroscience in songbirds; specifically, black-capped chickadees and zebra finches.