People / Post-Doctoral Scholars
Ava Ghezelayagh
Postdoctoral Scholar, Data Science Institute and Department of the Geophysical Sciences
Ava joined the DSI as an AI+Science postdoctoral scholar in September 2024. Her research applies genomic data to explore historical patterns relevant to evolutionary theory and the conservation of aquatic biodiversity in the face of today’s heightened extinction risks. She completed her BS and PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, where she was advised by Thomas Near and specialized in the systematics, phylogenomics, and macroevolutionary processes of fishes. At the University of Chicago, she works under the supervision of David Jablonski to leverage machine learning to build a comprehensive evolutionary framework for living and extinct bivalves (mussels, oysters, scallops, etc.).