Dr. Sinlan Poo

Dr. Sinlan Poo (Ph. D., National University of Singapore; B.A. Boston University summa cum laude with distinction) is the Curator of Research at the Memphis Zoo with an Adjunct position at Arkansas State University. Originally from Taiwan, she is a behavioral ecologist who is broadly interested in parental care, reproductive ecology, and phenotypic plasticity. Her research is primarily focused on amphibians, but she has worked on a wide range of research and conservation projects targeting small mammals, carnivores, invertebrates, and rare plants across several countries (the US, Ecuador, Panama, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Taiwan).

Dr. Poo's research at the Memphis Zoo is focused on increasing the impact of live collections at zoos and the capacity zoos have to contribute to in situ conservation of endangered species. These include: (1) comparative fitness and ecologically adaptive behavior in captive-bred versus natural-bred individuals, (2) reintroduction of endangered amphibians and reptiles, (3) effectiveness of assisted reproductive technology in amphibians, and (4) conservation of genetic and biodiversity through amphibian sperm cryopreservation. 

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Currently, Dr. Poo is co-organizing the Zoo-Mu Initiative, which is focused on "Linking and Leveraging Biological Collections: Zoos and Natural History Museums," and is co-leading the Global Women in Herpetology Project. 

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Dr. Poo is on the Advisory Committee of the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN), the Research Committee of Species 360, and the Executive Council and Broad of Trustees of The Herpetologists' League.