Ella Kellner

’I’ve always been interested in creepy-crawlies and now I am lucky enough to work with spiders for my PhD! Initially, I received a B.S. in Biological Sciences here at Charlotte and I am continuing my journey here with a PhD in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Environmental, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology. My research is currently looking at a comparison of the flexural and tensile strengths of spider silk between different species of spiders (namely Argiope aurantia, Parasteatoda tepidariorum, Uloborus glomosus, and Hypochilus pococki) and looking at how that then relates to web structure and function. Broadly, I am interested in how silk strength and web architecture has changed throughout spider evolution. So if anyone has any interesting spider photos, feel free to send them my way!