Mouse Houses

A major focus of the Sculpting Evolution lab was developing humane and effective technologies to manage invasive rodent populations.

As a corollary to our labs endeavors to build rodent based gene drives we wanted to explore other ways to enhance the fitness and reproduction of chosen individuals or traits. And so, the controlled access nest box project was born. The goal was to create rodent nest boxes that would selectively allow access to chosen individuals, providing them shelter or other resources that could give them and their pups a competitive edge.

Ultimately, the hope was that these nest boxes could be used to help introduce engineered individuals into the wild. 

I spearheaded the ideation, prototyping, and testing of nest box designs. My work involved plastic and metal fabrication, electronics prototyping, sensors, and PCB design, as well as creating interactive systems tailored to rodent behavior. Additionally, I contributed to public engagement efforts, including conceptualizing an outreach event for the Cambridge Science Festival featuring a human-sized nest box to immerse participants in the project.