Vaughn M. Shirey, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator of Lepidoptera
My research interests lie at the intersection of human-biodiversity interactions and data science. I am particularly fond of answering challenging questions about the evolutionary ecology, community ecology, and conservation of both butterflies and moths, as well as learning more about their morphology, distributions, and life histories. With collaborators, I also examine how biodiversity relates to policy, primarily at the federal level under the Endangered Species Act.
My second line of research investigates the role of natural history collections as a cultural process, drawing on visual culture, animal, and death studies.
Education and Training
- David H. Smith Postdoctoral Conservation Research Fellow (2025); University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
- Ph.D. in Biology (2023); Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
- B.S. in Environmental Science (2017), Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA