About the lab
The Smith-Vidaurre Lab, or the Behavior IntegRated with Data Science (BIRDS) Lab, works on the functions of socially learned vocalizations and the early-life sensitivity of vocal learning. We also develop computational pipelines and new tools to collect and analyze data. The lab is led by Grace Smith-Vidaurre, Assistant Professor and 1855 Professor of Data Science at Michigan State University in the Department of Integrative Biology, the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program.
We focus on how animals use socially learned vocalizations. This research is primarily driven by questions about how animals encode and perceive information about individual identity and social affiliations in learned vocal signals. We use avian study systems for this research, primarily parrots and songbirds, although we use simulation approaches as well. The main study species for this line of research are monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) and zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Our goals are to gain new insights into the diversity of information that animals communicate through vocal signals and how information encoding in learned vocalizations can change over short evolutionary timescales.
We also address how early social experiences may impact the information that animals encode in learned vocalizations, and the specialized brain regions necessary to produce learned vocal signals. In this research, we focus on parental care behavior as a critical source of variation that can shape individuals' early social lives. We use zebra finches for this research, which have been an important model system for the neurogenetic mechanisms underlying vocal production learning and auditory perception of vocal signals. Our goals include contributing to a broader understanding of how the brain regions important for a specialized form of social learning may be responsive to early experiences.
Across these lines of research, we integrate data science approaches to develop and test new hardware and software tools, which are generally focused on collecting and analyzing data.
In the Smith-Vidaurre (BIRDS) Lab, we are scientists who work together as a collaborative team to achieve our goals. We come from different cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and scientific backgrounds. We recognize that each lab member has unique intersectional identities and lived experiences that shape their scientific perspectives, interests, and career goals. We are committed to making the lab an inclusive space for a diverse researchers from underrepresented groups and historically excluded backgrounds. This includes people of color, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled people, caregivers, first-generation degree holders, and others.Lab News
- 2024 August 30 - Ari Cross' summer research in the lab was highlighted by the College of Natural Science in this article about the Advanced Computational Research Experience (ACRES) NSF REU program
- 2024 August 28 - Welcome Dr. Coppinger, Raneem, Summer, and Alexandra! Dr. Brittany Coppinger is a biologist joining the lab as a postdoctoral researcher in late August. Raneem Samman is a data scientist and biologist joining the lab as a research assistant in late August. Summer Eckhardt is a biologist and joins the lab as a graduate student in late August. Alexandra Juárez is a biologist joining the lab as a research assistant in early September.
- 2024 August 21 - New collaborative paper on vocal cultural change in endangered Amazon parrot populations published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B! See recent media coverage here and here.
- 2024 August 06 - The lab's first R package is online! Developed with former ACRES REU student Ari Cross and collaborator Dr. Vanessa Ferdinand, paRsynth uses Parsons code to sonify character strings and generate synthetic frequency-modulated vocalizations.
- 2024 July 26 - Congratulations to Arlena (Ari) Cross! Ari finished her REU in the lab through the MSU ACRES program, and won an Honorable Mention for her final talk.