CV

Education

• PhD Biological Sciences, Computational Biology Institute, George Washington University, Washington DC
  Expected graduation: May 2022, Advisors: Dr. Keith Crandall, Dr. Amy Zanne
• B.S. Biology, Magna Cum Laude, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
  2017, Major Professors: Dr. Seth Bybee, Dr. C. Riley Nelson

Research experience

• Aug 2017-present–George Washington University Computational Biology Institute
  Research Assistant, Dr. Keith Crandall
  • Directed and performed next generation sequencing molecular lab work for GW genomics core as lab manager and assistant
  • Created and maintained high-performance computing tutorial website for incoming bioinformatics graduate students and undergraduates using GitHub pages
  • Analyzed NGS human microbiome data for low-calorie sweetener study using whole metagenomic shotgun sequencing
  • Supervised and directed graduate and undergraduate students in phylogenetic analyses for coronavirus and cray sh projects
• Aug 2017-present–University of Miami
  Research Assistant, Dr. Amy Zanne
  • Assisted in field work set-up of decomposition project in Queensland, Australia for NSF-funded Wood/Termite/Fungus project
  • Directed undergraduate R and diversity, equity and inclusion discussion group
  • Organized international termite reading group and termite trait working group
  • Performed statistical modelling of estimates of termite diversity with metrics of environmental variables
• Jan-Sep 2021 United States Geological Survey National Climate Assessment Science Center
  National Science Foundation INTERN, Dr. Shawn Carter
  • Developed a project modeling the e ects of climate change on invertebrate species ranges using Biodiversity Impacts Framework database with experts across USGS
  • Created pipeline for taxonomic classi cation of species for database of 31,000 species using R statistical software
  • Assisted with database cleaning and reported at weekly meetings
  • Worked with a science communication team to create infographic for social media outreach
• Dec 2017-May 2018 Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
  Research Fellow, Dr. Torsten Dikow
  • Collected and processed manuscripts for taxonomic treatment organization using Plazi TreatmentBank - Attended weekly lab discussions of y systematics
• Oct 2015-Aug 2017 Brigham Young University, Research Assistant, Dr. Seth Bybee
  • Selected sites, obtained permits and VISAs, organized, and participated in fieldwork in Cameroon
  • Projects: Phylogenies of Anax dragonflies and Hetaerina damselflies, Utah firefly citizen science
• Feb-May 2016 Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil, Research Assistant, Dr. Rhainer Guillermo-Ferreira
  • Performed field work, DNA extractions and PCRs for sequencing
  • Gained proficiency in identification of damselflies and scientific illustration
  • English reviewer for several scientific papers
• 2012-2017 Brigham Young University Research Assistant, Dr. Riley Nelson
  • Curator for specimens from Great Basin National Park Diptera BioBlitz, sorting over 10,000 flies to the family level
  • Performed statistical analysis (R, EstimateS) on Diptera data gathered in Mongolia
  • Assisted other students in writing college-sponsored grants
  • Directed members of the public in additional Great Basin National Park BioBlitzes

Teaching Experience

• Fall 2021, PUBH 6860 and PUBH 3201–Principles of Bioinformatics Instructor’s Assistant, George Washington University
• Spring 2019, BISC1126–Introduction to Organisms lab Undergraduate instructor, George Washington University
• BISC1116- Introductory Biology: Biology of Organisms Instructor’s Assistant, George Washington University
• Guest Lectures
  • Spring 2019: Plant and animal evolution, BISC1116-Introductory Biology
  • Fall 2019: Urban Ecology, BISC2454-General Ecology
  • Fall 2020: Termite Time, BISC2331-Insect Biology
  • Spring 2021: “The Australian termite diversity anomaly: What’s missing in Australian rainforests?” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Virtual Entomology Seminar

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Rahnavard, A., Dawson, T., Clement, R. et al. (2021). Epidemiological associations with genomic variation in SARS-CoV-2. Sci Rep 11, 23023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02548-w.
• Clement, R.A., Saxton, N.A., Standring, S., Arnold, P.R., Johnson, K.K, Bybee, D.R., Bybee, S.M. (2021). Phylogeny, migration and geographic range size evolution of Anax dragonflies (Anisoptera: Aeshnidae) Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab046
• Clement, R.A., H. Flores-Moreno, L.A. Cernusak, A.W. Cheesman, A.R. Yatsko, S. Allison, P. Eggleton, A.E. Zanne. (2021). Assessing the Australian termite diversity anomaly: how habitat and rainfall affect termite assemblages. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9: 237. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo. 2021.657444
• Hoque, M. N., Istiaq, A., Clement, R. A., Gibson, K. M., Saha, O., Islam, O. K., … Hossain, M. A. (2020). Insights Into the Resistome of Bovine Clinical Mastitis Microbiome, a Key Factor in Disease Complication. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 860. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00860
• Hoque, M. N., Istiaq, A., Clement, R. A., Sultana, M., Crandall, K. A., Siddiki, A. Z., Hossain, M. A. (2019). Metagenomic deep sequencing reveals association of microbiome signature with functional biases in bovine mastitis. Scientific Reports, (August), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49468-4
• Clement R.A., Frandsen P.B., Mcknight T., Nelson C.R. (2018). Fly family diversity shows evidence of livestock grazing pressure in Mongolia (Insecta: Diptera). J. Insect Conserv. 22:0. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10841-018-0056-x

Other Publications

Print

• Clement, R.A., S.M. Bybee. (2018). Evolutionary relationships in Anax dragonflies. BYU Journal of Undergraduate Research.
• Clement, R.A., C.R. Nelson. (2017). Flies as bioindicators of grazing pressures in Mongolia. BYU Journal of Undergraduate Research.
• Clement, R.A., C.R. Nelson, M. Otis. (2012). Great Basin National Park Diptera Bioblitz, 19-21 June 2012, Fly Times Issue 49.
• Clement, R.A., C.R. Nelson, M. Otis. (2012). Diptera Bioblitz Preliminary Results. The Midden, The Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park.

Audio

• Clement, R.A., Contributor. “18 - Becca Clement and Keylie Gibson – What is computational biology?” Aug 12, 2019. Science in Progress

Art Exhibits from Artist-in-residence program

• Donna Davis, ’DE-CAY-dence’, August-October 2021, University of the Sunshine Coast art gallery
• Donna Davis, ‘When A Tree Falls’, May-June 2021, Exhibition at Northsite Contemporary Art Space

Presentations

• Clement, R.A., C. Cooper*, H. Flores-Moreno, P. Eggleton, A. Zanne, K. Crandall (Nov 2021). The influence of habitat and feeding group on Australian termite gut microbiomes. Entomological Society of America. Denver, CO.
• Clement, R.A., H. Flores-Moreno, K.A. Crandall, P.Eggleton, A.E. Zanne (Aug 2020). Deconstructing termite mound construction: The effect of precipitation on termite mounds in Queensland, Australia. Ecological Society of America. Virtual conference.
• Clement, R.A., H. Flores-Moreno, K.A. Crandall, P.Eggleton, A.E. Zanne (Aug 2020). K.A. Crandall, P.Eggleton, A.E. Zanne. (Aug 2019). The Australian termite diversity anomaly: the effect of rainfall on termite communities in Queensland, Australia. Ecological Society of America, Louisville, KY.
• Clement, R.A., P.A. Arnold, S.M. Bybee. (Nov 2017). Discovering relationships and geographic barriers in Anax dragonflies. Entomology Society of America, Denver, CO.
• Smith, S., R.A. Clement, S.M. Bybee. (June 2017). Interspeci c Competition in Hetaerina Damselflies. II Behavioral Ecology and Interactions Symposium – Brasil, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil.
• Clement, R.A., C.R. Nelson. (Sep 2016). Flies as bioindicators of grazing pressures in Mongolia. XXV International Congress of Entomology, undergraduate student oral competition, Orlando, Florida.
• Clement, R.A., P. Arnold, S.M. Bybee. (July 2016). Phylogeny of Anax, a preliminary attempt. Dragonfly Society of America Meetings, Provo, UT.

Posters

• Clement, R.A., H. Flores-Moreno, L.A. Cernusak, A. Cheesman, A. Yatsko*, S.D. Allison, P. Eggleton and A.E. Zanne (Dec 2021). The Australian Termite Diversity Anomaly’s Effect on Termite Mound Abundance and Dead Wood Occupancy. American Geophysical Union.
• Flores-Moreno, H., A.R. Yatsko, A. Cheeseman, S.D. Allison, L. Cernusak, R. Cheney, R.A. Clement, P. Eggleton, A.E. Zanne. (Dec 2021). What’s on the inside: Higher internal stem damage in trees in dry compared to wet tropics has implications for forest biomass estimates. American Geophysical Union.
• Yatsko, A.R. *, H. Flores-Moreno, A. Cheesman, S.D. Allison, L. Cernusak, R. Cheney*, R.A. Clement, P. Eggleton, A.E. Zanne (Dec 2021). Savanna trees have more internal more internal damage than rainforest trees, resulting in biomass resulting in biomass overestimates. American Geophysical Union.
• Cooper, R.*, R.A. Clement, A.E. Zanne, K.A. Crandall. (April 2021). An ever-changing support system: the impact of diet, species, and habitat on diversity in termite microbiomes. GW Research Showcase.
• Cheney, R.*, A. Chavez*, R.A. Clement, H.Flores-Moreno, A.E. Zanne. (April 2020). Termite mound stoichiometry: the e ect of carbon and nitrogen content on termite mound properties in Queensland, Australia. GW Research Showcase. Washington, DC, canceled due to COVID-2020.
• Clement, R.A., A.E. Zanne, H. Flores-Moreno, K.A. Crandall. (April 2020). Bugs in bugs: An introduction to the gut microbiome of Australian termites. GW Research Showcase. Washington, DC, canceled due to COVID-2020.
• Clement, R.A., K. A. Crandall, A. E. Zanne. (Oct 2019). Termite turnover determined by rainfall in Queensland, Australia. Harlan Poster Session, GWU, Washington DC.
• Clement, R.A., K. A. Crandall, A. E. Zanne. (May 2019). The Curious Case of the Termites: How Rainfall Affects Diversity in the Australian Tropics. GW Biology Department Earth Days. Washington, DC.
• Finkel, M.*, R.A. Clement, N. Stearrett, K.A. Crandall, A.C. Sylvetsky Meni. (Apr 2019). The Effect of Prolonged Low-calorie Sweetener Consumption in Overweight and Obese Young Adults. GW Research Days. Washington, DC.
• Clement, R.A., K. A. Crandall, A.E. Zanne. (Apr 2019). The Curious Case of the Termites: How Rainfall Affects Diversity in the Australian Tropics. GW Research Days. Washington, DC.
• Martin, G., C. Bills, R.A. Clement, S. Smith, S.M. Bybee. (Nov 2017). Using citizen science to illuminate firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) localities in Utah. Entomology Society of America, Denver, CO.
• Clement, R.A., P. Arnold, S.M. Bybee. (March 2017). Geographic boundaries in Anax dragon ies. HBLL College of Life Sciences Poster Competition. Provo, UT.
  *Mentees

Grants and awards

• April 2021 Mortensen Endowment Fund, Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University
• Jan 2021 NSF INTERN internship, GRFP, USGS National Climate Assessment Science Center
• Apr 2020 Mortensen Endowment Fund, Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University
• Jan 2020 Deconstructing the construction of termite mounds. Henry H. Work Meritorious Award in Science, Cosmos Club Foundation
• Apr 2019 Mortensen Endowment Fund, Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University
• Apr 2019 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
• May 2018 George Washington University Graduate Merit Fellowship
• May 2018 Marine Biological Laboratory Molecular Evolution Workshop Scholarship
• Dec 2017-2019 Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History fellow
• Aug 2017 VSTC Computational Biology Institute Fellowship, George Washington University
• Mar 2017 Robert M. Squires scholarship in Evolutionary Biology, Brigham Young University
• Jan 2017 Extending the Phylogeny of Anax Dragon ies to Africa, Undergraduate research ORCA grant, Brigham Young University
• Jan 2016 Effect of Grazing on Diptera Diversity in Mongolia, Undergraduate research ORCA grant, Brigham Young University
• 2011-2016 National Merit Scholarship
• 2010 EnergySolutions Foundation Scholar for scientists and engineers

Professional Experience, Outreach Activities and Volunteer Work

• 2021 Panelist, GWTeach, “What is the future of the carbon cycle in climate change?”, 9th grade Biology, School Without Walls High School
• 2021 “Insect adventure”, Activity for 8-12 year old girls, Tysons church group
• 2021 “S is for Scientist”, Skype a Scientist, Meyonohk School, Edmonton first graders
• 2021 “So you want to be an insect?”, Skype a Scientist, John Poole Middle School 7th graders
• 2021 Project leader, Earth Day Slate Canyon Citizen Science Project BioBlitz, Provo City Parks
• 2021 GWCAS Three Minute Thesis competition “The Australian termite diversity anomaly: the effects of rainfall on termite community assembly”
• 2021 “Insects, the earth and you!”, Earth Stewardship East virtual talk
• 2021 “Life underground”, Ms. Donahoe’s 3rd grade class, Bren Mar Park Elementary, Virginia
• 2021 Skype a Scientist – “My journey into entomology”, Girl Scouts of Connecticut
• 2021 Skype a Scientist – “Nature trails and habitats”, Mr. Turner’s 6th grade class, Scarsdale Middle School, New York
• 2020 Panelist, NSF GRFP Workshop, GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
• 2020 Skype a Scientist – “Wonderful world of insects”, Sixth grader from Mendell School, Boston
• 2020 Skype a Scientist – “What is an insect?”, Ms. Harbold’s children, California
• 2020 Skype a Scientist – “The wonderful world of insects”, Mr. Pena’s grade 6 class, Hong Kong
• 2020 Virtual residency with Wood, Termite, Fungi project artist, Donna Davis
• 2020 George Washington University BioBlitz volunteer
• 2020“Becca’sBugs”, Guest interview and blog post on ACrumb, environmental blog
• 2019-2020 Hope mentorship program with 4th graders at Randolph Elementary School, Virginia
• 2019 Panelist, NSF GRFP Information Session, GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
• 2019 Session presider, “Communities: Spatial Patterns And Environmental Gradients II”, ESA, Louisville, KY
• 2019 Volunteer, Ecological Society of America meeting, Louisville, KY
• 2019 Volunteer Coordinator for RECOMB computational biology conference
• 2019 “What lives in Streams?” Cleveland Elementary School 4th grade outreach
• 2019 Instructor, Youth Bioinformatics Symposium, George Mason University
• 2018 GWU Outreach day “The Art of Biology”, Cleveland Elementary School
• 2018-2019 CCAS International buddy program mentor
• 2018 GWU Research Days judge for posters in ecology and evolutionary biology
• 2018-present Earth Stewardship East, Board of Directors
• 2018 Science and Religion, Session Director, InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington
• 2017 Student Volunteer, Entomological Society of America, Denver, CO
• 2017 Organized insect presentation for local entomology club, Provost Elementary, UT
• 2017 Lichen BioBlitz, Great Basin National Park, participant
• 2016 Utah Firefly Citizen Science Project, assisted with firefly verification
• 2016 Volunteer judge for STEM Science Fair, Westridge Elementary, UT
• 2016 Mentored high school biology students and teachers in molecular, lab and field work
• 2015 Computer support specialist, BYU OIT
• 2015 Science instructor for Girl Scouts Summer Series
• 2015 Aquatic insect BioBlitz, Great Basin National Park, educator
• 2015 Grounds and Maintenance, Brigham Young University
• 2015 Youth basketball coach, 5th and 6th grade girls, Lindon City, UT
• 2013-2014 Missionary, LDS church, Belgium/ Netherlands
• 2012 Diptera BioBlitz, Great Basin National Park, curator
• 2012 Youth soccer coach, 1st and 2nd grade girls, Lindon City, UT

Mentorship

• 2021 MentorWorks mentor, Fairfax County Public Schools, Luther Jackson Middle School
• 2021 Michaela Fitzgerald, Undergraduate student, George Washington University, trait database development
• 2021 Nora Cavanaugh, Undergraduate student, George Washington University, trait database development, insect photography, molecular biology
• 2021 Caroline Cooper, Undergraduate student, George Washington University, microbiome analysis
• 2020 Rose Cheney, Undergraduate student, George Washington University, CN analysis
• 2020 Julliene Monteiro, Graduate student, UNESP, termite eldwork
• 2019 Aldonza Chavez, Undergraduate student, George Washington University, DNA extraction
• 2019 Baptiste Wijas, Graduate student, University of New South Wales, termite eldwork
• 2019 Abbey Yatsko, Undergraduate student, Cornell University, NSF Research Experience for Undergradu- ates, field work, termite identi cation, project development
• 2018-2019 Graduate Student Mentor in Columbian College of Art and Science, International Student Buddy program, George Washington University
• 2018-2019 Mitchell Finkel, Undergraduate student, George Washington University, Molecular techniques, Computational Biology.
• 2018 Nazmul Hoque, PhD Fellow, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Molecular Biology lab techniques (metagenomic extraction, library preparation, Illumina sequencing)
• 2017 Abdul Jabbar, Visiting PhD researcher, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan, Molecular techniques, Geneious
• 2016 Alan Myrup, High School Teacher, Mountain View High School, UT, Molecular Biology lab techniques (DNA extraction, PCR, sanger sequencing)
• 2016 Nathan Geary, High School Student, Mountain View High School, UT, Molecular Biology lab techniques (DNA extraction, PCR, sanger sequencing)

Fieldwork

International:

• 2020 Brazil: Brasilia, Chapada dos Veadeiras, Zanne lab, Insect and ecology fieldwork
• 2018 (Jun, Dec), 2019 (Jul) Australia: Northern Queensland, Daintree Forest, Brooklyn Sanctuary, Insect and ecology fieldwork
• 2017 Brazil: Manaus, Belém, São Paulo, Bybee Laboratory, Insect fieldwork
• 2017 Cameroon: Dja reserve, Bybee Laboratory, Insect fieldwork
• 2016 Brazil: São Paulo State, Bybee Laboratory, Insect fieldwork
  Domestic:
• 2016 Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana: Insect fieldwork
• 2012, 2015 Nevada: Great Basin National Park, BYU, Nelson Laboratory
• 2013, 2015 Utah: BYU, Nelson Laboratory, Insect fieldwork.

Training and Skills

• Jul 2021 University of Washington Summer Institute in Statistics for Big Data: Supervised Methods for Statistical Machine Learning
• Jul 2021 University of Washington Summer Institute in Statistics for Big Data: Unsupervised Methods for Statistical Machine Learning
• Jul 2021 University of Washington Summer Institute in Statistical Genetics: Regression Methods: Concepts and Applications
• Jul 2021 University of Washington Summer Institute in Statistical Genetics: Multivariate Analysis for Genetic Data
• Feb 2021 NCEAS/DataOne Reproducible Research Course
• May 2020 BES Training: Developing Activities with your Audience in Mind
• Apr 2020 Python course: Get data o the ground. GW online course
• Sep 2019 Browsing genes and genomes with Ensembl at George Washington University
• Aug 2019 Data Visualization Using R and ggplot workshop, ESA, Louisville, KY
• Sep 2018 Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics workshop, AAAS
• Sep 2018 Illumina Propel Certi cation and training
• Jul 2018 Workshop on Molecular Evolution-Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachussets.
• Jan 2018 Illumina Nextera XT and MiSeq training
• Nov 2017 GWU High Performance Computing Workshop

Molecular Laboratory and instruments
DNA extraction of insect material, human fecal material, insect fecal material using Qiagen, Zymo kits, PCR, Agarose electrophoresis, Primer design, Sanger Sequencing, Library Preparation (Nextera XT, Truseq mRNA, Truseq small RNA), library normalization, Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer, Invitrogen Qubit, Illumina NextSeq 500 Sequencing, MiSeq Sequencing, ThermoCyclers

Computational Software

• Basic programming: Bash, R, Python, JavaScript, HTML, C++, Markdown, TeX
• Phylogenetic analysis: Geneious, PartitionFinder, IQtree, BEAST2, Mesquite, TNT, PAUP, Astral, RevBayes, ETE, MAFFT, ModelTest, FigTree, CIPRES
• RNAseq analysis: bbduk, STAR, RSEM
• Microbiome analysis: FastQC, Flexbar, MultiQC, Pathoscope2, NBZIMM, Maaslin2, Deseq2, DADA2
• Online databases: NCBI, Ensembl, GBIF, High performance computing: ColonialOne, GWU’s High Performance Computing cluster, Quartzy (lab management)
• Proficient on Mac and PC with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and internet Statistical analysis and figure design in R, ggplot2 Figure Design using Adobe Illustrator

Languages
Dutch (speaking, reading, writing), Portuguese (speaking), and Spanish (reading, writing)