ABOUT ME

My research is about how moths and butterflies sense the world. Moths can hover, escape bird and bat predation by flying incredibly fast and navigate to coloured flowers by starlight. To understand how a moth’s brain, eyes, and sensory systems have evolved to perform these complicated visual tasks, I use an integrative approach, looking at their genes, behaviour, and in the light of evolution to understand how butterflies’ and moths’ visual systems function. Like many other nocturnal animals, moths get disoriented and entrapped by light, something often utilized by moth collectors. I study the effects of light pollution on nocturnal insects and explore ways to mitigate this issue. I run the SENSE lab at Case Western Reserve University, where we use multiple techniques, including genetics, animal behaviour, and neuroethology, to examine how the senses—sight, hearing, and smell—have evolved in day- and night-flying insects.

We are addressing how artificial light disorients insects at night and alters their circadian activity, vision, and flight, while also testing strategies to mitigate light pollution, partnering with citizen science and biodiversity monitoring in India and Costa Rica.