Blois Lab Updates – Summer 2026
We’ve got some exciting transitions ahead of us in the Blois Lab!
- Reina successfully defended her PhD in May 2026. Congratulations Dr. Warnert!! Reina is headed to Cal Poly for a postdoc with Dr. Tim Bean and the Spatial Wildlife Ecology Lab.
- Jessica and the Blois Lab are moving! Jessica has accepted a position as Professor and the Donald R. Dickey Chair in Vertebrate Biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA, as of July 1. She will miss her colleagues and community at UC Merced, but is excited about the new opportunities ahead.
Congrats to Reina on submitting her first PhD chapter!
Here in the Blois Lab we are fans of celebrating all the wins along the way, so congrats to Reina on a PhD milestone. Reina just recently developed and submitted her first PhD manuscript for review. Her project looks at the relationship between fire (plus vegetation and climate) and small mammals across the California Sierra Nevada. You can read more about it in the preprint. Congrats, Reina!
Summer Research Opportunity: Surveying Small Mammals in Yosemite National Park
Application Deadline: April 9th, 2023
Anticipated Timeline: May 30th, 2023 – August 11th, 2023
Compensation: full time, $15.50-17.73/hour
We are currently looking for an undergraduate research assistant to help during the summer of 2023! The research assistant will work directly with graduate student Reina Warnert on various projects related to small mammal communities in Yosemite National Park. This position will provide valuable field experience to individuals hoping to explore career options in biology and ecology.
Field work will include extensive hiking to, from, and within study sites and working early mornings and odd hours. Shared lodging will be provided during field work times for the duration of the position at the Yosemite Field Station in Wawona. Some camping, for up to 5 nights at a time, may be required. Other activities may also include lab-based and computational-based work.
More details are provided on the job description.
To apply for this job, go to: https://ucmerced.joinhandshake.com/jobs/7659592/share_preview and login with your UCM single sign on.
Please direct any questions to jblois@ucmerced.edu or rwarnert@ucmerced.edu
Blois Paleoecology Lab 