Principal Investigator
Frank Rheindt
Through his love for birds, Frank E. Rheindt found his way to the field of evolutionary biology. An associate professor at NUS for almost a decade now, Frank is happy to have so many hard-working, intelligent and bright students in his lab.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Keren Sadanandan
Keren is a returnee to the Rheindt lab – she originally joined the lab as an Honors student back in 2013, and then worked as a Research Assistant in the lab for four years. She went on to complete her PhD and first post-doc at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in Germany.
Keren is a proponent of open science, and her current research interests include using comparative genomics and transcriptomics to characterize the genotypes underlying specialized phenotypes in the animal kingdom. Some of her recent work has involved quantifying genetic convergence between diverse mammalian and avian lineages which independently evolved the ability to echolocate. She is also the editor of the Journal of Asian Ornithology.
Outside of her life in academia (and sometimes inside), Keren can often be found listening to throat singing, reading science fiction, discussing sustainability initiatives or gardening.
Arthur Francis Sands
I started my career in evolutionary genomics at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) where I obtained my BSc and BSc Hon. degrees in Biodiversity & Ecology and an MSc in Zoology. I furthered this as a Marie Curie Fellow, completing a PhD in Animal Ecology & Systematics at Justus Liebig University (Germany) in 2020 and a postdoctoral fellowship at The University of Hong Kong. I have always had a passion for genetics and its link to the natural world. This passion means that I am highly interested in using modern genetic principles to obtain a greater understanding of the dynamics of organisms and biological systems – particularly through biogeography, phylogenetics and taxonomy. I have been fortunate to work on several different groups of biota (inc. mice, ticks & molluscs, crustaceans and birds) across the globe and to answer practical biological questions assisting conservation. I have always had a love for ornithology and birds: from the time I was able to write I have been marking off birds in various field guides and my interest in them goes back as early as I can remember. Today my research is mainly directed at the speciation and biogeography of the Sulpher-crested Cockatoo and other birds distributed over Indo-Australasian region.
PhD Students
Li Sijun
Sijun joins the Avian Evolution Lab as PhD student in 2024. Her researches mainly focus on population genomics of white-eyes.
Besides research, she enjoys reading, writing and gaming.
Research Assistants
Mayjean Nieves
Mayjean first joined the lab in 2022 as an Honours student studying the Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus complex. Despite having never seen any (live) Brown Shrikes before, Mayjean used whole genome techniques to investigate the population genomics of these brown birds. As a Research Assistant, she will be continuing the Brown Shrike project, and working on a joint project with the Chisholm Lab at NUS conducting population viability analyses (starting with the Short-tailed Babbler as seen in the picture).
In her free time, Mayjean loves to play music and rock out on her bass. She also likes to eat mala tang (from Hot Hideout) and Kinder Bueno, though not at the same time.
Collin Chua
Collin is investigating the population genomics of the Silver-eared Mesia (Leiothrix argentauris), a member of the Laughingthrush family that lives in montane habitats. In particular, he is interested in the populations on Sumatra, which are morphologically distinct from their continental counterparts. He hopes to uncover more about these brightly-coloured and charismatic birds to ultimately aid in their conservation.
Collin enjoys being in nature, and would not want to miss an opportunity to go birdwatching with his friends.
Undergraduates
Guo Yichen
Yichen is a third-year Life Sciences undergraduate interested in the ecology and conservation of birds. Her UROPS project looks into the genetic data of White-eyes classified as Lemon-bellied White-eye (Zosterops chloris) in the Kai and Aru Islands, where Yichen aims to identify cryptic species that could have been mistakenly classified as Lemon-bellied White-eye due to their similar morphologies.
During her free time, she enjoys crocheting (making penguins is one of her strong suits). You may also find her in nature spaces to touch grass and polish her birding skills.
Chen Xi
Chen Xi is a Life Science undergraduate student working on untangling an undescribed radiation of Scops owls from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. By analysing their genetic data, she aims to potentially identify previously overlooked species or subspecies.
She has a weakness for raptors, but likes too many birds to have a clear favourite. In her free time… she unfortunately has no free time. But if she did, she would like to be running around chasing feathered creatures.
Samuel Ho
Sam is a second-year undergraduate student charting the population distribution of endangered Straw-Headed Bulbuls (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) in Singapore. Particularly, by using GPS-location tracking to compare movements of mainland and offshore populations, a better understanding of urban impacts on this remarkable songbird can be acquired.
Besides birdwatching, Sam spends hours scaping underwater aquarium habitats and playing Monster Hunter on Switch. Also, he loves eating. Motto in life: Eat more, sleep more.
Charlotte Lim
Charlotte is a second-year BES undergraduate student undertaking a UROPS studying the effect of pleistocene glacial cycles on the population genomics of Scaly-crowned babblers, to uncover potential cryptic diversity.
She loves asian brown flycatchers and is always delighted to see them in the field. She thinks falconets are adorable too. Having recently joined, she hopes to get into the groove of things fast and is very happy to be part of the lab.
Darren Yeo
Darren is a UROPS student researcher in the Avian Evolution Lab, focusing on Singapore’s endangered bird species such as the Chestnut-winged Babbler, Short-tailed Babbler, and Straw-headed Bulbul. His work involves field activities like locating bird nests, mapping individual pedigrees, and determining home ranges. This research aims to increase conservation awareness and provide critical data to guide resource allocation for protecting these species. In his free time, Darren enjoys singing and looks forward to field trips, especially moments spent holding and interacting with birds.
Genevieve Koh
Genevieve is a Life Science undergraduate student. She is investigating avian breeding seasonality in tropical rainforests across the world using breeding and climate data.
In her free time, Genevieve enjoys running, or drinking kopi o kosong in Yakun.
Peh Yong
Peh Yong is a Life Sciences undergraduate interested in avian fieldwork. Her UROPS focuses on the species delimitation of the Short-tailed Babbler through analysis of morphology and bioacoustics, along with fieldwork elements to determine the home ranges of local Short-tailed Babblers.
Her favourite fieldwork is mistnetting. Besides birding, she enjoys inline skating and badminton.
Alumni
Past Postdocs
Ke Fushi
Tang Qian
Balaji Chattopadhyay
Kritika Garg
Past PhD Students
Movin Nyanasengeran
Mohammad Irham
Yen Yi Tan
Huiqing Yeo
Laura Berman
Pratibha Baveja
Nathaniel Ng
Helen Nash
Emilie Cros
Past Research Assistant
Keita Sin
Theo Atkinson
Melody Wu Meng Yue
Geraldine Lee
Tan Hui Zhen
Tammy Ho
Elize Ng
Gwee Chyi Yin
Gabriel Low
Ng Wen Qing
Yan Yanyun
Past Undergraduate Students
Zachary Chong
Nisa Hidayah
Salunkhe Avani Bipin
Grace Tang
Yan Ming Tan
Fatma Gözde Cilingir
Dominic Ng
Bryan Lim
Lim Jia Ying
Lim Hong Yao
Bryan Soh
Han Wei
Clara Lau
Gabriel Teo
Denise Nastaya Harjoko
Chiok Wen Xuan
Wei Xuan
Stacia Loong
Kelsey Moreland
Soo Yun Jing
Lee Qiao Le
Ng Shao Hua
Shivaram Rasu
Avian Evolution Lab 