Bio I grew up in the suburbs of Lexington, KY and I've had a life long interest in natural history, zoology and biological evolution. I've been lucky enough to be able to pursue these interests as a career. I received my bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky majoring in biology with a minor in anthropology. I liked UK enough to stay, and after a short stint as a lab technician, I went on to graduate school at Kentucky working with Dr. David Westneat. My PhD work was on the breeding behavior of the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens). After graduate school I moved on to a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Geoff Hill at Auburn University where I helped Geoff develop a molecular genetics laboratory. All of my work has made use of molecular genetic tools to study the behavior and evolutionary biology of free-living birds. I worked on various projects in the Hill lab collaborating with and learning a great deal from many of Geoff's students along the way. Following my time as a postdoc at Auburn I was an assistant professor in the biology department at Georgia Southern University where I taught an upper level course in evolutionary biology. As of June 2007 I've been the zoology curator at Cincinnati Museum Center. My move to CMC reflects a shift in my research program to collections-based avian systematics, population genetics and phylogeography of birds in Eastern North America and East Asia. I have a wife and son and supportive extended family who still live nearby in Lexington, KY. My professional interests tend to shape my hobbies and I love birding, keeping tropical fishes, amphibians and reptiles, and nature photography. About the curator
Herman L. Mays Jr., PhD B.S. Biology/Anthropology 1992 University of Kentucky Ph.D. Evolutionary Ecology 2001 University of Kentucky Postdoctoral Fellow 2001-2006 Auburn University Assistant Professor, Evolutionary Biology August 2006-June 2007 Georgia Southern University Curator of Zoology June 2007-Present Cincinnati Museum Center Adjunct Professor March 2008-Present University of Cincinnati Contact information Cincinnati Museum Center 1301 Western Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45203 Tel: (513) 455-7163 Click here to email me http://www.uky.eduhttp://www.uky.eduhttp://www.auburn.eduhttp://www.georgiasouthern.eduhttp://www.cincymuseum.org/http://www.uc.edu/mailto:hmays@cincymuseum.org?subject=email%20subjectshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1shapeimage_4_link_2shapeimage_4_link_3shapeimage_4_link_4shapeimage_4_link_5shapeimage_4_link_6
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