Dr. Karly Cohen (2024-present)

Functional morphology and performance. Dr. Cohen is looking at filtration efficiency and performance of filter-feeding in large-scale marine animals. In addition, Dr. Cohen is exploring armor in terrestrial vertebrates including: armadillos/honey badgers. Development of chimera tenacular (cephalic and pre-pelvic) teeth. 

Dr. Cohen is an integrative biomechanist and developmental biologist. She is currently working on filtration performance in manta rays as an NSF funded postdoctoral researcher. In addition, Dr. Cohen was just awarded a Save Our Sea's grant to study the development of chimera tenacular teeth. 

Dr. Cohen was awarded:

• Save Our Seas grant (2024)

 Email: [email protected]

Dr. Cohen's publications:

1. Cohen, K. E., Lucanus, O., Summers, A. P., & Kolmann, M. A. (2023). Lip service: Histological phenotypes correlate with diet and feeding ecology in herbivorous pacus. The Anatomical Record, 306(2), 326-342.
2. Cohen, K. E., Weller, H. I., Westneat, M. W., & Summers, A. P. (2023). The evolutionary continuum of functional homodonty to heterodonty in the dentition of halichoeres wrasses. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 63(1), 176-187.
3. Hoover, R. C., Hawkins, O. H., Rosen, J., Wilson, C. D., Crawford, C. H., Holst, M. M., ... & Cohen, K. E. (2023). It Pays to Be Bumpy: Drag Reducing Armor in the Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker, Eumicrotremus orbis. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 63(3), 796-807.
4. Vandenberg, M. L., Cohen, K. E., Rubin, R. D., Goldbogen, J. A., Summers, A. P., Paig‐Tran, E. M., & Kahane‐Rapport, S. R. (2023). Formation of a fringe: A look inside baleen morphology using a multimodal visual approach. Journal of Morphology, 284(4), e21574.
5. Baxter, D., Cohen, K. E., Donatelli, C. M., & Tytell, E. D. (2022). Internal vertebral morphology of bony fishes matches the mechanical demands of different environments. Ecology and Evolution, 12(11), e9499.
6. Cohen, K. E., Ackles, A. L., & Hernandez, L. P. (2022). The role of heterotopy and heterochrony during morphological diversification of otocephalan epibranchial organs. Evolution & Development, 24(3-4), 79-91.
7. Cohen, K. E., & Summers, A. P. (2022). Dimorphic fluorescence in the pacific spiny lumpsucker. Ichthyology & Herpetology, 110(2), 350-353.
8. Huie, J. M., Wainwright, D. K., Summers, A. P., & Cohen, K. E. (2022). Sticky, stickier and stickiest–a comparison of adhesive performance in clingfish, lumpsuckers and snailfish. Journal of Experimental Biology, 225(22), jeb244821.
9. Cohen, K. E., Crawford, C. H., Hernandez, L. P., Beckert, M., Nadler, J. H., & Flammang, B. E. (2020). Sucker with a fat lip: the soft tissues underlying the viscoelastic grip of remora adhesion. Journal of Anatomy, 237(4), 643-654.
10. Cohen, K. E., George, A. E., Chapman, D. C., Chick, J. H., & Hernandez, L. P. (2020). Developmental ecomorphology of the epibranchial organ of the silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix. Journal of Fish Biology, 97(2), 527-536.
11. Woodruff, E. C., Huie, J. M., Summers, A. P., & Cohen, K. E. (2022). Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker armor—Development, damage, and defense in the intertidal. Journal of Morphology, 283(2), 164-173.
12. Cohen, K. E., Flammang, B. E., Crawford, C. H., & Hernandez, L. P. (2020). Knowing when to stick: touch receptors found in the remora adhesive disc. Royal Society open science, 7(1), 190990.
13. Cohen, K. E., Weller, H. I., & Summers, A. P. (2020). Not your father’s homodonty—stress, tooth shape, and the functional homodont. Journal of Anatomy, 237(5), 837-848.
14. Hulsey, C. D., Cohen, K. E., Johanson, Z., Karagic, N., Meyer, A., Miller, C. T., ... & Fraser, G. J. (2020). Grand challenges in comparative tooth biology. Integrative and comparative biology, 60(3), 563-580.
15. Hernandez, L. P., & Cohen, K. E. (2019). The role of developmental integration and historical contingency in the origin and evolution of cypriniform trophic novelties. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 59(2), 473-488.
16. Keer, S., Cohen, K., May, C., Hu, Y., McMenamin, S., & Hernandez, L. P. (2019). Anatomical assessment of the adult skeleton of zebrafish reared under different thyroid hormone profiles. The Anatomical Record, 302(10), 1754-1769.
17. Kolmann, M. A., Cohen, K. E., Bemis, K. E., Summers, A. P., Irish, F. J., & Hernandez, L. P. (2019). Tooth and consequences: Heterodonty and dental replacement in piranhas and pacus (Serrasalmidae). Evolution & development, 21(5), 247-262.
18. Cohen, K. E., & Hernandez, L. P. (2018). Making a master filterer: ontogeny of specialized filtering plates in silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix). Journal of morphology, 279(7), 925-935.
19. Cohen, K. E., Hernandez, L. P., Crawford, C. H., & Flammang, B. E. (2018). Channeling vorticity: modeling the filter-feeding mechanism in silver carp using μCT and 3D PIV. Journal of Experimental Biology, 221(19), jeb183350.
20. Palumbo, D., Bulusu, K. V., Cohen, K., Hernandez, P., Leftwich, M. C., & Plesniak, M. W. (2017). Filter feeding mechanics of Hypophthalmichthys molitrix regarding porous gill rakers. In APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting Abstracts (pp. M5-009).

Maddy Wilson (2019- ). Thesis: Performance of hearing in fin whales. 

Maddy is interested in biological modeling is busy investigating hearing and bone conduction in mysticete whales. Her project is heavily anatomy based and incorporates both physical and computational modeling. She is working closely with Drs. Ted Cranford and Petr Krysl to create FEA models of whales. 

Maddy also volunteers her time at the NHMLA. 

Maddy received funding from: 

• 2019 CSU Violet Horn Fellowship. 

Email: [email protected]

Maddy Wilson in the news:

• Whale hearing

Jordyn Neal (2022-Active). Thesis: Filtration performance and anatomy of megamouth filters. 

Jordyn is investigating the filter morphology and performance of megamouth sharks. She will be using various imaging techniques (SEM, Histology) and modeling to figure out how these denticulated filters work to retain prey. Jordyn is using museum preserved specimens by working closely with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, SCRIPPS Institution of Oceanography SIO collection, Cal Academy of Sciences, and various museums in Japan.

Jordyn received funding from:

• UCR BB2P Fellow 2024
• CSUF Jerome Wilson Memorial Scholarship 2024
• NSF GRFP 2023
• CSU COAST Dr. Kenneth H. Coale Graduate Scholar Award
• 2022 CSUF Violet Horn Fellowship 
• Graduate Equity Fellowship

Email: [email protected]

Julia Teeple (2022-Active). Thesis: Modeling flow in biologically accurate models of mobula ray filters

Secondary project: Armor performance in armadillos.

CSUF Jr/Sr Grant funded (2024).

Undergrad and SCERP Fellow (2019-2021). 

Julia is working on a project investigating the performance of armadillo armor. 

Julia's undergrad research investigated fluid flow and its contributions to filtration in filter-feeding sharks (whale sharks, basking sharks, and megamouth sharks). She looks at how tooth shape affects flow downstream of the oral cavity. She was also involved in a project investigating marine microplastic pollution in commercially important oyster populations in Southern California.

Julia received funding from: 

• CSUF Emeriti Scholarship 2024
• Jungle Biomechanics invited participant 2024
• COAST Kenneth Coale Graduate Award Winner 2024
• CSUF Stephen Murray Award 2024
• UCR BB2P Fellow 2023
• NSF REPS 
• CSUF Jerome Wilson Memorial Scholarship 2023
• NSF GRFP Honorable Mention

Julia won the all CSUF research competition and placed 2nd in the all CSU research competition 2022 in the undergraduate category. 

Email: [email protected]

Julia Teeple in the news: 

•  Shark teeth
•  CSU research competition

Jessica Clark (2023-Active). Thesis: Stress levels in fishes following treatment with clove oil.

Jessica is interested in finding alternate methods of anesthetizing fishes humanely and safely. She will be investigating the stress response of fish exposed to clove oil. 

Jessica received funding from: 

• 2023 CSUF Violet Horn Fellowship

Email: [email protected]

Jahnita DeMoranville (2021-Active). Thesis: Ballistic tongue motion in salamanders. (Joint student with Dr. Jeff Olberding).  

Jahnita received funding from:

• Eugenie Clark Summer field program to learn shark field handling.
• Pa'lante Fellowship recipient 2022.
• Aquarium of the Pacific African American Scholarship in 2023.

Email: [email protected]

Jahnita DeMoranville in the news

• Shark research

Taylor Naquin (2023-Active) Thesis: Biofoulers affect the compressive strength on native oysters, Ostrea lurida. (Joint student with Dr. Danielle Zacherl)

Taylor's research focuses on ecomechanics in taphonomically active zones. She is investigating the effects of biofoulers on the compressive strength in foundational species. 

Taylor received funding from:

• 2024 CSUF Rachel Carson Award
• 2020 CSUF Violet Horn Award

Email: [email protected]

Mahita Adluri (2024) Biological Sciences Major,

RCP Scholar

• Mahita will be working together with graduate student Jordyn Neal to describe the branchial filters in megamouth sharks. 

Mariah Cox (2024) Spanish Major

• Mariah will be working on a project related to fish feeding.  

Mariah received funding from:

• Aquarium of the Pacific African American Scholarship in 2024
• Project TBD

Emma Michel (2024) Engineering Major

• Emma will be working on a project investigating the structural performance of armadillos in collaboration with graduate student Julia Teeple, Post doc Karly Cohen, and Assistant Professor Cassandra Donatelli (U Washington, Tacoma). 

Ryan Le (2022- ). Tooth performance in carcharinid sharks. 

Ryan is working on a project looking at the functional performance of homodont vs heterodont teeth in sharks. Ryan is mapping tooth morphology and comparing the performance across ontogeny.

In addition, Ryan will begin a project (Spring 2023) looking at the population genetics of broadnose seven gill sharks in Southern California in collaboration with Dr. Ryan Walter. Ryan hopes to work closely with local recreational fishers in the area to collect samples. 

Email: [email protected]