Olivia Hamilton
Drosophila Research Technician
Email: Orhamil@clemson.edu
Biosketch:
Olivia Rose Hamilton received both her BSc and MSc in Biology from Salisbury University. During undergrad, she worked on projects ranging from bat ecology to zooarchaeology. For her Master’s, she studied female mate choice and multimodal signaling under Drs. Kim Hunter and Ryan Taylor. Traveling to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panamá, she performed behavioral analyses with túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus). Through the COVID lockdown, she also worked with local Maryland species, including green treefrogs (Dryophytes cinereus) and spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer). Rose’s thesis focused on the role of vision during mate choice through the use of robotic frogs and 3D printed foam nests. One of her main interests was the influence of multimodal (acoustic and visual) courtship displays on memory instantiation.
After graduating, she joined Clemson as a research technician in 2024, and is excited to apply her past skills as a behavioral ecologist to new research with Drosophila.
Outside of the lab, she can be found playing video games, trying new recipes, and caring for her animals.
Research:
Rose will be working to better understand the genetic basis of addiction using Drosophila as a model organism. Specifically, she will be using cocaine preferences of different genetic lines to investigate the connection between behavioral phenotypes and their respective genotypes.
Publications:
Hamilton, O.R., Hunter, K.L., & Taylor, R.C. (2022). Physalaemus (Engystomops) pustulosus (túngara frog). Egg predation. Herpetological Review, 53(4), 655-656.