Amanda Stefan

Background

About Amanda Stefan

Scientific Research I primarily study insects and their ecology, physiology, and behaviour. My experience includes species identification (insect, bird, amphibian, and reptile), field work in a variety of weather conditions, capturing insects traps and nets, back-country camping, experimental design, handling live insects, insect collection management, data collection, and statistical analyses. I have particular experience in identifying Diptera and Hymenoptera, and am able to navigate a dichotomous key for any insect with ease. I am familiar with all bird, amphibian, and reptile species found in Ontario, Canada, and I have extensive experience with interior camping, and in particular canoe camping (>20 years). The statistical analyses I have completed with ecological data using the R program include (but are not limited to) linear mixed-effects models, ordinal logistic regressions, ANOVA, PGLS (phylogenetic generalized least squares), and MCMCglmm (Markov chain Monte Carlo generalised linear mixed models). I am also able to generate a variety of graphs and other visuals using R. I have experience dissecting birds, amphibians, fish, and especially insects; I have successfully extracted an intact central nervous system from a Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) and a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa), including its brain, ventral nerve cord, and all 10 of its ganglia. I am adept at scientific communication and public outreach. My love of writing, exemplified by the university creative writing courses I have taken up to the year 4 level, has helped the quality of my scientific writing greatly. I wrote, recorded, voiced, and edited an educational video about flower flies for Carleton University's remote Butterfly Show in the fall of 2020, linked below. I am very skilled at public speaking and explaining scientific concepts to people with no background in the sciences. Teaching I have experience as a teaching assistant and English Language Partner. Both of these jobs included speaking with students and interacting with them directly, answering questions and giving guidance. As a teaching assistant, I worked both as a remote TA (2020-2021) and as a wet lab TA (2019-2020). This position included setting up experiments for hundred of students, giving lectures, marking and helping with assignments, handling live specimens (plant, animal, bacterial, protist), proctoring exams, and giving practical direction for students.