Justley Sharp (’27). Justley is a biology major who joined the lab in Fall 2024. Justley’s current research interests involve chick age and food availability, and how this drives variation in chick corticosterone levels. Justley also performs routine work in the lab, including genetically sexing chicks by extracting DNA, performing PCR, and gel electrophoresis. Justley works with assays new to the lab to validate them for our purposes. In addition to research and academics at Bucknell, Justley throws the shot put and discus on Bucknell’s track and field team, where she competes as an NCAA Division 1 athlete.
Tyler McMasters (’27).
Darlin Amaya (’28). Darlin is an Animal Behavior major who joined the lab in the fall of 2025. Darling spent the first semester focused on doing PCR and gels to genetically sex kittiwakes. Now she is f pursuing her own project coding behavior data from kittiwake chick videos to understand how prenatal and postnatal factors affect the development of aggressive behavior and its effects on siblicide. Outside of lab work , Darlin is a huge animal lover and future veterinarian who is currently co-raising a service dog, Slater (see bottom of page), on campus under the Susquehanna Service Dogs program and Bison Paws at Bucknell. She spent summer ’26 as an intern at the Houston Zoo.
Kate Contiliano (’29). Kate joined the lab in the fall of 2025 as a Malesardi Merit Scholar. She spent the first semester performing DNA extractions, PCR, and gel electrophoresis to genetically sex chicks using blood samples from the 2025 field season. Kate’s current research project investigates how chick age and food availability affect corticosterone levels. She is spending summer ’26 working on firefly genomics in the Lower Lab at Bucknell. Outside of academics, Kate is also involved in the Catholic Campus Ministry. Additionally, Kate loves to travel and garden, and she enjoys creative hobbies, such as painting, drawing, pottery, and floral design.
Slater Raspaldo-Amaya (‘27). Slater is a black labrador retriever being trained by Animal Behavior majors Darlin Amaya (‘28) and Ayden Raspaldo (‘28) as part of the Susquehanna Service Dog Organization. He joined the lab in Spring of 2026. Slater’s current project includes training to graduate from his basic training, and providing emotional support for the busy members of the Benowitz-Fredericks lab.