CHRISTIE ANNE SUKHDEO

Skills:
 Strategic Planning and Organization  Excellent Oral and Written Communication
 Project Management  Ability to work as part of a team and independently
 Extensive field and laboratory research  GPS and GIS mapping
 Critical thinker and problem solver  Data Analyses
EDUCATION
2012 - Present University of New Orleans – New Orleans, LA
Ph.D, Integrative Biology; Major Field of Study: Ecology, Evolutionary and Conservation Biology
Expected Graduation: Summer 2020; Current GPA: 3.875.
2006 - 2011 City College of New York – New York, NY
B.S. in Biology and Initial Certification in Secondary Education
Cumulative GPA: 3.734; Dean’s List 8 semesters
Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa Gamma Chapter
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2012 - Present Graduate Student Researcher, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
Currently a Ph.D candidate researcher under the supervision of Profs. Nicola Anthony and T. Keith Philips. The
overarching goal of my dissertation research is to document the dung beetle diversity in West Africa and identify which
lineages are more vulnerable to the effects of bush-meat hunting and climate change. Completion of the dissertation will
have encompassed the following:
 Worked with interdisciplinary and multicultural teams by participating in a large collaborative field expedition to
Gabon to non-invasively sample blue duikers. This helped to build and strengthen scientific collaborations with
African and American scientists.
 Planned and conducted wildlife field inventories and monitoring studies by leading two field expeditions to
Cameroon to collect dung beetle samples using pitfall traps, and to survey large mammals using line transects and
point counts.
 Navigated through predetermined locations, which included dense and remote forests, using maps, compasses and
GPS units.
 Ensured team safety through rough and logistically challenging terrains.
 Trained local students and field guides how to effectively and efficiently conduct pitfall trapping, collect and store
beetles, survey large and medium-sized mammals and employ molecular techniques. This provided students and
field guides with the tools to conduct independent research.
 Interviewed local groups including villagers, hunters, ecoguards, and park conservators on forest resource usages.
 Backpacked and lived under primitive conditions for up to three months at a time.
 Carried 30-pound equipment packs in dense and rugged terrain.
 Worked with and organized large datasets by categorizing 24,000+ dung beetles to species level.
 Extracted genomic DNA from representative dung beetle specimens and generated sequencing data through
polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and Sanger sequencing.
 Processed and analyzed raw sequencing data as well as abundance data.
 Used a suite of statistical and phylogenetic and conservation assessment software tools to identify dung beetle
lineages that are susceptible to the effects of anthropogenic activities. Software used includes QGIS, R statistical
package, MrBayes, Arlequin, Geneious, MEGA7, PopART, BEAST, etc.
 Conducted comprehensive reviews of peer-reviewed scientific publications, particularly on systematics, climate
change, bushmeat hunting, and dung beetles, and how all of these entities ultimately affect human prosperity.
 Interpreted data results, prepared reports and delivered presentations on key findings to multiple audiences.
 Wrote and obtained multiple grant proposals as a source of funding for my research.
2010 - 2012 Undergraduate Student Researcher, Dept. of Biology, City College of New York, New York, NY
Student researcher in Professor David Lohman's Ecology, Evolutionary and Biogeography Biology lab group, which
mainly focused community ecology and phylogeography of tropical butterflies. My key responsibilities were:
  Laboratory Work: Responsible for extracting genomic DNA from tissue samples, generating sequencing data
through PCR and Sanger sequencing and ensuring that the laboratory operated smoothly.
 Field Work: Worked with interdisciplinary teams from culturally diverse backgrounds and in rough terrains in the
Dominican Republic, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. I assisted in gathering butterfly samples and using point count
surveys to monitor bird and butterfly diversity. I also conducted interviews with the local population, which
included villagers and Buddhist monks, on their attitudes towards biodiversity and habitat and wildlife
conservation.
 Data processing and analysis: Responsible for analyzing the data using a suite of phylogenetic programs,
interpreting the results, preparing reports of the key findings and disseminating the results to the scientific
community.
Spring 2010 Research Student, Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Science, City College of New York, New York, NY
Conducted research with Dr. Diomaris Padilla, which mainly focused on environmental air quality. I worked
independently on this project with minimal supervision. My duties included:
 Preparing aerosol samples for scanning electron microscopy analyses.
 Utilizing the scanning electron microscope.
 Classifying and identifying aerosols that cause adverse health effects.
SELECTED ORAL AND POSTER AND PRESENTATIONS
Nov 2017 Entomology 2017, Entomological Society of America, Denver, CO.
Oral: Dung Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) Species Diversity in Cameroon.
*1st Place Student Competition for the President's Prize*
Sep 2016 2016 XXV International Congress of Entomology, Orlando, FL.
Poster: Comparative phylogeography of three widespread dung beetles in Cameroon.
Jun 2015 11th Annual Gulf Coast Conservation Biology Symposium, New Orleans, LA.
Oral: The impacts of bush-meat hunting on dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) diversity and dung
removal rates in Cameroon. *Best Graduate Student Presentation*
Mar 2014 11th Annual Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference (SEEC), Statesboro, GA. Poster:
Characterization of West Central African dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) fauna and their
vulnerability to human activity. *2nd Place Best Graduate Student Poster*
Mar 2013 10th Annual Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference (SEEC), Orlando, FL. Poster:
Phylogeography of a widespread tropical butterfly: Melanitis leda (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)
May 2012 Buddhism and Biodiversity Conservation – Past, Present, and Future, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Oral:
Buddhism and Biodiversity Conservation: A student’s perspective
Jan 2012 NYC-LSAMP Bridge to Doctorate Retreat, Tampa, FL. Oral: Phylogeography of a widespread tropical
butterfly: Melanitis leda (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)
GRANTS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS
2017 University of New Orleans, Student Government Travel Award
2017 Entomological Society of America, President's Prize
2016 University of New Orleans, Student Government Travel Award
2015 – 2017 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Fellowship
2012 – 2017 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship
2012 – 2016 Board of Regents Superior Graduate Fellowship, University of New Orleans
2012 – 2016 Marcus B. Christian Scholarship, University of New Orleans
2015 The Systematics Research Fund
2015 The Entomological Society of America SysEB Student Research Travel Award
2015 The Explorer's Club Fund (declined)
2014 Society of Systematic Biologists
2014 Sigma-Xi Grants-In-Aid of Research, The Scientific Research Society
2013 University of New Orleans, Department of Biological Sciences Travel Fund
2012 University of New Orleans, College of Sciences Travel Fund 2013
2011 City College of New York City Seeds Fellowship to Sri Lanka and Thailand
2011 City College Academy of Professional Preparation AMS stipend recipient
2010 – 2011 Jacob Holman Memorial Scholarship, City College of New York
2010 – 2011 New York City Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NYC LSAMP) scholar, CUNY-CCNY
2010 Greater Houston Chapter Scholarship, City College of New York
2006 – 2010 City College of New York Teacher's Academy Program scholar
PUBLICATIONS
 Sukhdeo CA, Philips TK, Tasse GC, Fokam EB, and Morgan KM. (2019) Elevational variation of dung beetle
(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) communities on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. African
Zoology, 54:3, 151-160, DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2019.1645618
 Latorre B, Sukhdeo CA, ….and Lohman DJ. (2019) Geographic mosaic of Wolbachia infection in a single host.
Submitted to Molecular Ecology.
 Sukhdeo CA, Philips TK, Fokam EB, Morgan KM and Anthony NM. Comparative phylogeography of three
widespread dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) species in Cameroon and Bioko. In preparation for
submission to the Journal of Biogeography.
 Sukhdeo CA, Philips TK, Fokam EB, Morgan KM and Anthony NM. The impacts of bush-meat hunting on dung
beetle phylogenetic community structure in Cameroon. In preparation.
 Sukhdeo CA, Philips TK, Fokam EB, Morgan KM and Anthony NM. Dissimilarity modeling of West and West
Central African dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae): predicting patterns of spatial turnover under future
climate change. In preparation.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND CERTIFICATION
Oct 2019 - 7th Grade Science Teacher, Palmdale School District, Palmdale, CA.
Present

Aug 2018 - Founding Science Teacher, LA Promise Fund Charter High School #1, South Los Angeles, CA.
Oct 2019 I currently primarily teach 9th grade "The Living Earth" and 10th grade "Environmental Science."
 Regularly assess students' scientific knowledge and skills and use the results to inform instruction
 Prepare daily lesson plans and schedule engaging classroom activities
 Demonstrate scientific concepts using models, technology, and other standard or teacher-prepared
instructional aids
 Commit to school-wide behavior systems that consider adolescent development and promote holistic,
socio-emotional responses through positive behavioral interventions, restorative justice and
collaborative problem solving
 Collaborate with colleagues, students and families
 Participate in weekly professional development meetings and serve on the School Site Counsel
 Teach remedial Math and English
 Lead after school club, "Girls build L.A", to empower women in art and community service
 Mentor students outside of the classroom

Fall 2017 - Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA. Course
Sum 2018 Number: BIOS 1071, Biology II Laboratory. Course Description: The overall goal of this course is to help
students understand how scientists investigate the mechanisms of biological systems through the scientific
method and experimentation. The topics covered include hypothesis testing, evolutionary processes,
invertebrate diversity and adaptations, plant diversity and adaptations, and vertebrate diversity and
anatomy. Class sizes of 20 to 29 students.
Initial Certification for New York City Public Schools (Grades 7-12) through the Teacher's Academy Program at the City
College of New York - CUNY
Spring 2011 Student Teacher. City College Academy of the Arts, M.S. and H.S., New York, NY. Description:
Worked with Individualized Educational Program (IEP) students as well as students in Collaborative Team
Teaching (CTT) classrooms (class sizes of 28 - 32 students) to strengthen weaknesses and become critical
thinkers. I also taught full-period lessons and developed effective student assessment techniques.
2006 - 2010 Student Intern. New York City, NY. Description: I collaborated with several science teachers to further
develop classroom and time management skills, prepare lesson plans and exams, assist students individually
and in small groups, and practice differentiated instruction to improve science literacy in urban youths. I
interned at A. Philip Randolph Campus H.S., City College Academy of the Arts M.S., and the Mott Hall
School for Advanced Studies in Mathematics, Science and Technology.
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 May 2018: CyVerse Data Carpentry and Tools Workshop, New Orleans, LA. Attendee. This workshop is
designed to help participants use online clouds and R programming package to manipulate large
datasets.
 Jul 2016: NSF - Partnerships for International Research and Education Research Symposium, Yaounde,
Cameroon. Presenter: "Characterization of Cameroonian Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae).
 Nov 2014 Entomological Society of America 62nd Annual Meeting, Portland, OR. Attendee
 Jul 2013: NSF - Partnerships for International Research and Education Workshop, Franceville, Gabon.
Presenter: "Creating a Webpage"
SELECTED SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES
Fall 2017 Public Service, Girl Scouts Event at the University of New Orleans, LA. 21 October 2017. Presenter:
Engaged the girl scouts (ages 4 to 12) with an insect activity to help them understand which
characteristics comprise insects, where they can be found, what they eat, and why they are ecologically
important. Girl scouts then got to make a clay model of their favorite insect.
2016 - Present Public Service, Young Leadership Council (YLC), New Orleans, LA. I volunteer primarily with "YLC
Assists", which provides an array of opportunities to give back to the New Orleans community.
2015 Biology Graduate Student Association (BGSA) at UNO Board Member – Position: President.
Description: Organized and coordinated social events and journal club for Biology graduate
students as well as undergraduate research students.
Spring 2015 Student Representative, UNO Budget Committee, Student Sub-committee - Position: Graduate student
representative for the College of Sciences. Description: Helped to develop a self-assessed fee structure for
UNO students in response to Governor Bobby Jindal's budget cuts to higher education.
Spring 2010 Volunteer, Mayor Bloomberg’s “We Are New York Program,” Elmhurst, Queens, NY. Description: Lead
English conversation groups at the Pan American International High School to help non-native adult
English speakers improve their English vocabulary and sentence syntax. Informed non-native English
speakers about the resources available to them in NYC such as the 311 information helpline and parent
coordinators at their child’s school.