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Staff

Executive Director

Mary Katherine Gonder, PhD

Executive Director, GENTE
Director, Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program
Co-Founder, Central African Biodiversity Alliance
Professor, Drexel University
Department of Biology
Office: PISB 420
mkg62@drexel.edu
Phone: 215.571.4638

Education

  • BA, Magna Cum Laude, University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • PhD, Graduate School of City University of New York
  • Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, National Institutes of Health
  • Post-Doctoral Research Associate, University of Maryland

Research Interests

The rainforests of the Gulf of Guinea and Congo Basin are located in western equatorial Africa. These rainforests are among the most important centers of biological diversity in the world, harboring roughly 20% of all known species of plants and animals. Research in Gonder’s group is focused on examining the history of this biologically-rich region with the specific goals of: (i) deciphering spatial patterns of biodiversity across the region; (ii) inferring the underlying evolutionary and ecological processes that generate the region’s rich biodiversity; and (iii) using this knowledge to help inform conservation strategies in western equatorial Africa which recognize and integrate evolutionary patterns and the natural processes that produced them.

Members of Gonder’s group are currently pursing research in a range of tropical organisms, with the explicit aim of improving biodiversity prediction and conservation in central Africa. The research also includes both laboratory analysis in the U.S. and fieldwork in western equatorial Africa, primarily in Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria. The research program also incorporates data from diverse fields, including population genetics, genomics, phylogeography, geospatial modeling, virology and conservation science. Research in her group is highly collaborative, and occurs within a diverse, international network that includes academic researchers, conservation professionals and decision-makers.

An additional focus area is to promote multi-institutional capacity building activities that will boost biodiversity research and conservation efforts in western equatorial Africa, a region undergoing rapid climatic change and socioeconomic transformation. Laboratory members have contributed to several activities ranging from primary research, educational outreach and conservation action planning. Notably, Gonder is a principal investigator on a bold research and educational program unites more than 150 researchers and students from the U.S., Africa and Europe around an innovative research project that seeks to identify meaningful conservation measures to mitigate the effects of habitat loss and climate change in western equatorial Africa.

Selected Publications

  • Long-term urban market dynamics reveal increased bushmeat carcass volume despite economic growth and proactive environmental legislation on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. D.T. Cronin, S. Woloszynek; W.A. Morra; S. Honarvar; J.M. Linder; M.K. Gonder; M.P. O'Connor; G.W. Hearn PLoS ONE 10(7): e0134464.
  • The population genetics of wild chimpanzees in Cameroon and Nigeria suggests a positive role for selection in the evolution of chimpanzee subspecies. M.W. Mitchell, S. Locatelli, L. Ghobrial, A.A. Pokempner, P.R. Sesink Clee, E.E. Abwe, A. Nicolas, L. Nkembi, N.M. Anthony, B.J. Morgan, R. Fotso, M. Peeters, B.H. Hahn and M.K. Gonder, BMC Evolutionary Biology 15:3. (DOI 10.1186/s12862-014-0276-y).
  • Chimpanzee population genetic structure in Cameroon and Nigeria is associated with habitat variation that may be lost under climate change. P.R. Sesink Clee, E.E. Abwe, R.D. Ambahe, N.M. Anthony, R. Fotso, S. Locatelli, F. Maisels, M.W. Mitchell, B.J. Morgan, A.A. Pokempner and M.K. Gonder, BMC Evolutionary Biology 15:2. (DOI 10.1186/s12862-014-0275-z)
  • Environmental variation and rivers govern the structure of chimpanzee genetic diversity in a biodiversity hotspot. M.W. Mitchell, S. Locatelli, P.R. Sesink Clee, H.A. Thomassen and M.K. Gonder, BMC Evolutionary Biology 15:2. (DOI 10.1186/s12862-014-0274-0)
  • Great ape genome diversity. J. Prado-Martinez, P.H. Sudmant, J.M. Kid, H. Li, J.L. Kelley, B. Lorente-Galdos, K. Veeramah, A. Woerner, T.D. O'Connor, G. Santpere, A. Cagan, C.Theunert, F. Casals, H. Laayouni, K.Munch, A. Hobolth, A.E. Halager, M. Malig, J. Hernandez, I. Hernando-Herraez, K. Prüfer, M. Pybus, L. Johnstone, M. Lachmann, C. Alkan, D. Twigg, N. Petit, C. Baker, F. Hormozdiari, M.Fernandez-Callejo, M. Dabad, M.L. Wilson, L. Stevison, C.Camprubí, T. Carvalho, A. Ruiz- Herrera, L. Vives, M. Mele, T.Abello14, I. Kondova, R.E. Bontrop, A. Pusey, F. Lankester, J.A. Kiyang, R.A. Bergl, E. Lonsdorf, S. Myers21, M. Ventura, P. Gagneux, D. Comas, H. Siegismund, J. Blanc, L. Agueda-Calpena, M. Gut, L. Fulton, S.A. Tishkoff, J.C. Mullikin, R.K. Wilson, I.G. Gut, M.K. Gonder, O.A. Ryder, B.H. Hahn, A. Navarro, J.M. Akey, J. Bertranpetit, D.Reich, T. Mailund, M.H. Schierup, C. Hvilsom, A.M. Andrés, J.Wall, C.D. Bustamante, M. Hammer, E.E. Eichler, and T. Marques-Bonet. Nature. 2013, 499, 471-475 (DOI: 10.1038/nature12228).
  • Biodiversity and conservation genetics research in central Africa: New approaches and avenues for international collaboration. N. M. Anthony, P. Mickala, K.A. Abernethy, C. Atteke, P. Bissiengou, M.W. Bruford, F. Dallmeier, T. Decaëns, A. Dudu, A. Freedman, M. K. Gonder, O. Hardy, J. Hart, K. Jeffery, M. Johnson, F. K. Pambo, A. Ley, L. Korte, S. A. Lahm, M. Lee, J. Lowenstein, J.-F. Mboumba, D. N. Bourobou, A. Ngomanda, S. Ntie, D. Sebag, J. Sullivan, H. Vanthomme, V. Vergnes, E. Verheyen, and B. Zimkus. Conservation Genetics Resources, 2012 4(2): pp 523-525. (DOI: 10.1007/s12686-011-9554-9)
  • Evidence from Cameroon reveals differences in the genetic structure and history of chimpanzee populations. M.K. Gonder, S. Locatelli, L. Ghobrial, M. W. Mitchell, J. T. Kujawski, F. Lankester C.-B. Stewart and S. A. Tishkoff, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2011, 108, 4766-4771. Featured cover article. (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1015422108).
  • Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). B. Morgan, A. Adeleke, T. Bassey, R. Bergl, A. Dunn, R. Fotso, E. Gadsby, K. Gonder, E. Greengrass, D. Koulagna, G. Mbah, A. Nicholas, J. Oates, F. Omeni, Y. Saidu, V. Sommer, J. Sunderland-Groves, J. Tiebou, and L. Williamson. 2011, IUCN--The World Conservation Union. Denotes primary authors. (http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/pdf/NCCAP.pdf)
  • Origin of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla). W. Liu, Y. Li, G. H. Learn, R.S. Rudicell, J.D. Robertson, J-B. N. Ndjango, C.M. Sanz, D.B. Morgan, S. Locatelli, M.K. Gonder, P.J. Kranzusch, P.D. Walsh, E. Delaporte, E. Mpoudi-Ngolle, A.V. Georgiev, M.N. Muller, G.M. Shaw, M. Peeters, P.M. Sharp, J.C. Rayner, and B.H. Hahn. Nature, 2010, 467, 420-425. Featured cover article. (DOI:10.1038/467404a).
  • Tracing the origins of rescued chimpanzees reveals widespread chimpanzee hunting in Cameroon. L. Ghobrial, F. Lankester, J.A. Kiyang, A.E. Akih, S. deVries, R. Fotso, E.L. Gadsby, P.D. Jenkins, Jr. and M.K. Gonder, BMC Ecology, 2010 (2). Received ‘highly accessed’ label. (DOI:10.1186/1472-6785-10-2).
  • Whole mtDNA genome sequence analysis of ancient African lineages. M.K. Gonder, H.M. Mortensen, F.A. Reed, A. de Sousa, and S.A. Tishkoff, Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 24, 2007, 757-768 (DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msl209).
  • A new west African chimpanzee subspecies? M.K. Gonder, J.F. Oates, T.R. Disotell, M. Forstner, J.C. Morales and D.J. Melnick. Nature, vol. 388, 1997, p.337 (DOI:10.1038/41005).

Senior Team

Jennifer Cohen

Associate Director, GENTE Scholars Program
Drexel University

jlc576@drexel.edu

Jenn Cohen joins Drexel from the Brookings Institution, where she managed special projects for the Global Economy and Development research program and published on the role of big data in accelerating progress on sustainable development. She is thrilled to leverage her background in international education to facilitate higher education opportunities for students in Equatorial Guinea. As a Fulbright Scholar, and later Spanish Ministry of Education Fellow, Jenn worked with bilingual high schools in Madrid and on the northern coast of Spain to develop Global Classrooms curriculum and English language training. She graduated from the University of Chicago and holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).


Michael Machado

Finance and Compliance Manager
Drexel University

mm572@drexel.edu


David Montgomery

National Manager
Drexel University

dmm438@drexel.edu
info@bioko.org

David Montgomery has served as BBPP’s National Manager since 2015 and has worked for Drexel in Equatorial Guinea since 2012. David has operational and oversight responsibilities for Drexel’s activities in Equatorial Guinea, including for the GENTE Consortium and BBPP. David is committed to the hard work of collaboration and conservation in EG, but has worked in various other contexts for shorter term projects including Namibia, Peru and Tajikistan. He loves adventure travel, backpacking and running in his free time.


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