I study the hormonal mechanisms of complex social behavior and how evolution shapes these mechanisms to influence species variation in social traits. My research mainly focuses on the interplay between sex steroids and behavior. I am currently using birds to pursue this line of work, including tropical birds (manakins) that perform acrobatic courtship displays and temperate birds here in North Carolina that vigorously defend territories. However, I have very broad interests in the endocrine basis of behavior and am comfortable working in a range of vertebrate models. My research program overall is quite integrative, combining concepts and techniques from the fields of physiology, neurobiology, ethology, and evolution.
