Congratulations to Robert and Zac
Postdocs Zac MacDonald and Robert Cooper recently moved on from the Shaffer Lab to assistant professorships at UC Riverside (Zac) and Virginia Tech (Robert). Zac’s postdoc was funded by the La Kretz Center, a...
Category: Lab News
Bradley Shaffer for Gizmodo—Has the dire wolf truly been resurrected? We asked the experts
Has the dire wolf truly been resurrected? UCLA professor and evolutionary biologist Bradley Shaffer discussed the recent scientific breakthrough for Gizmodo. The company Colossal Biosciences claims it has achieved the world’s first “functional de-extinction,”...
Brad Shaffer interviewed on NPR about impacts of wildfires on wildlife
In the midst of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, Brad spoke on NPR’s “AirTalk with Larry Mantle” about wildfire’s impact on California ecosystems and the long term effects of those fires. Click below to...
Joey Curti awarded UCLA LaKretz Center fellowship
Joey’s research focuses on the impacts of anthropogenic stressors on bat community composition in urban areas across California. Specifically, using unmanned aerial vehicles with onboard sensors and acoustic microphones, Joey will survey bat populations...
La Kretz Center invites applications for 2025 Postdoctoral Fellowships
The UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science invites applications for its 2025 Postdoctoral Fellowship in California Conservation Science. We seek to hire one or more postdoctoral scholars who conduct innovative biological research...
Joey Curti is leading Oct 19 bat workshop
Joey Curti is leading a workshop sponsored by the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, which will focus on one of Southern California’s most misunderstood mammals — bats! Learn how to identify...
Conserving California’s endangered species
Conserving California’s endangered species Fifty years ago, under President Richard Nixon, the United States officially enshrined into law the Endangered Species Act (ESA), arguably the most powerful piece of legal protection for at-risk species...
Brad Shaffer on KQED — ‘Moonshot for Biology’ Aims to Sequence a Genome of Every Type of Plant and Animal on Earth
Brad Shaffer, director of UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, discusses how scientists are racing against time to create a global database of DNA Listen...
The CCGP in the UCLA Daily Bruin: Shaffer Lab researchers take lead in genetics study of California’s native species
Shaffer lab researchers are taking the lead in the California Conservation Genomics Project, a state-funded project led by academic researchers aiming to gather genetic information on species native to California. Erin Toffelmier, associate director...
Brad Shaffer quoted in article about biodiversity research funding
There is an estimated $598-billion funding gap between the spending on global biodiversity conservation and the total biodiversity protection needed across the globe, according to the Paulson Institute’s Financing Nature 2020 report — something...