Recent Research

(This page is under construction. Check back for updates, soon!)

The Curators and staff of the NSRL, in collaboration with students and with other researchers, actively conduct field expeditions and research projects that contribute to advancements in the biological sciences. These research projects, typically funded by federal and/or state agencies, enhance our knowledge and understanding of biological diversity, biogeography, conservation, systematics and evolution, population genetics, zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases, ecotoxicology, and more. These projects depend upon the existence of the NSRL collections and the research support services of the NSRL, and in turn contribute to the growth of the NSRL collections for future research. Below are a few of the recent or ongoing research activities of faculty, staff, and students affiliated with the NSRL. 

NIH-funded Research Based on the GRC and Local Collaboration Investigates How Genetics and the Environment Shape Chronic Wound Microbiomes

Funding: “Patient Genetic Determinants of Chronic Wound Microbiome Composition,” awarded to PI Caleb Phillips from the National Institutes of Health, $421,373, 2022-2025. 

Click here for project summary.

 

Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Trans-Pecos

Funding: “Status of bighorn sheep in Texas: translocation history, disease risk potential, and establishment of archival tissue collection for range-wide disease surveillance,” awarded to PIs Warren Conway, Robert D. Bradley, Caleb D. Phillips from the Wild Sheep Foundation, $50,000, 2016-2018; and “Funding for a PhD Student for Bighorn Research,” awarded to PIs Warren Conway, Robert D. Bradley, Caleb D. Phillips from the Texas Bighorn Society, $160,000, 2016-2018. 

Click here for project summary.

 

Statewide Genomic Assessment of Texas Pocket Gophers 

Funding:  “Population and conservation status of Texas pocket gophers (Geomys and Thomomys) in Texas with a focus on the subspecific status of Thomomys bottae via population genomic tools”, awarded to PIs David A. Ray, Richard D. Stevens, Robert D. Bradley from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, $118,608, 2016-2019.

Click here for project summary.

 

 

Click here to see Past Research Projects.