Miranda joined the Siler lab as a master’s student in the fall of 2018. Inspired by a life-long interest in conservation and wildlife, she completed her undergraduate degree in Biology and immediately entered the non-profit sector as a wildlife rehabilitator. She then went on to work as a research technician, assisting on a field monitoring project of the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), a species of special conservation status in the state of Oklahoma. This long-running research project is located at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City and allows her to work closely with both the Natural Resources Department of the base, as well as curators and keepers from the Oklahoma City Zoo. Upon transitioning into the role of master’s student, she spent a year of study at Southern Illinois University before relocating the project to OU. Her research focuses on the young age classes of horned lizards, specifically hatchling survivorship and both hatchling and juvenile spatial ecology. She additionally hopes to help lead population surveys of horned lizards throughout western Oklahoma. The data collected may help to shape a future management plan for repopulation of Texas Horned Lizards in the state of Oklahoma.