Research Students and Supervised Projects at Wheaton College (2022 - Present)

 

• Hannah Brunelle (B.A. Biology) – Assessing impacts of multiple parasites on Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) across age classes and rivers in the Chesapeake Bay. (BIO 500 Honors Thesis). **now a M.Sc. student at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland - Baltimore.

• Ophelia McGrail (B.A. Biology) – Unraveling a potential cryptic species complex of Polydora colonia and Polydora spongicola through morphology and DNA barcoding. (BIO 500 Honors Thesis). *now a Ph.D. student at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth

• Katie Vidic (B.A. Biology) – DNA barcoding of parasitic worms extracted from the invasive Japanese mystery snail Heterogen japonica (BIO 399 Independent Study)

• Margaret Strong (B.A. Biology) – Population genetics of shell-boring worms associated with the oyster, Crassostrea virginica from Wellfleet Harbor, Cape Cod. (BIO 399 Independent Study)

• Eric Galindo (B.A. Biology) – Genetic diversity of Dirofilaria immitis variants from globally segregated populations (BIO 399 Independent Study)

• Maia Ondrasenek (B.A. Biology) – Genetic connectivity of Dirofilaria immitis variants from globally segregated populations.

• Ashley Barreto (B.S. Chemistry) – DNA barcoding of the Japanese mystery snail (Heterogen japonica) from California.

• Mikayla Titus (B.A. Biology and International Relations) – Prevalence and DNA barcoding of trematode parasites associated with the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis from Point Judith, Rhode Island [BIO 499: Capstone Project].

• Ava Sheedy (B.A. Biology and Anthropology) – DNA barcoding of Hydroides dianthus from New England marinas [BIO 399: Independent Study].

• Rachel Hickey (B.A. Biochemistry) – DNA barcoding of terebellid worms from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States [BIO 399: Independent Study]

• Viviana Schroeder (B.A. Biology)– Genetic characterization of the southern pine beetle from Nantucket Island. [BIO 399: Independent Study]

• Trisha Harithsa (B.A. Biology): Phylogeographic position of Mytilus edulis based on historical samples collected from the Baltic Sea (Poland). [BIO 399: Independent Study]

• Emma Russo – Genetic characterization of the trematode parasite Proctoeces maculatus from New England blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). [BIO 399: Independent Study]

• Rylie Seaberg – Connectivity analysis of the dog heartworm, Toxocara canis using archived sequence data [BIO 500 Honors Thesis]

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 Research Students and Supervised Projects at Clarkson University (2015 - 2022)

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• Leo Bennett (B.S. Biology) - Genetic characterization of Viviparus georgianus in the Adirondack Park

• Sarah Barnum (B.S. Biology) - Global connectivity patterns of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium using contemporary and ancient DNA barcode data

• Carolyn Jessop (B.S. Biology) - Global connectivity of Sars-COV-2 based on analysis of the complete ORF1ab gene region

• Emma Foss (B.S. Biology, Environmental Science & Policy) - DNA barcoding of polychaetes collected from the New England coast (Polynoidae)

• Colleen Bullard (B.S. Biomolecular Science, Biology) - DNA barcoding of polychaetes collected from the New England coast (Terebellidae and Nerididae)

• Herbert Fountain (B.S. Biomolecular Science) - Scanning the COVID-19 genome for candidate genes to use for phylogeographic analyses **now a PhD student at Cornell University Biomedical Sciences Program

• Arletty Arias (B.S. Biology) - Scanning the COVID-19 genome for candidate genes to use for phylogeographic analyses

• Alison Parker (B.S. Biology) - DNA barcoding of liver flukes from white tailed deer in northern New York **now a DVM student at Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine

• Margaret Dedloff (B.S. Biology, History) - Assessing the efficacy of three mitochondrial DNA markers in delineating Mytilus galloprovincialis from Mytilus edulis **now a PhD student in UNC School of Medicine’s Microbiology and Immunology Program

• Kayli Harling (B.S. Biology) - Assessing the efficacy of the 12S DNA marker in delineating Mytilus galloprovincialis from Mytilus edulis

• Hallie Boyer (B.S. Biology) - Effects of carbon dioxide induced acidification on growth and shell repair rates of Planorbis snails from the Adirondack Park

• Julia Rizzo (B.S. Biology) - Effects of hypersalinity on native pond snails from the northeastern United States

• Jordan Cahill (B.S. Biology) - DNA barcoding of polychaete worms collected from the 2019 New England Rapid Assessment Survey of non-indigenous marine species **now a DPT student at Columbia University

• Sara Cote (B.S. Biology) - Surveying aquatic biodiversity within the Adirondack Park using mtDNA barcoding. **now a DVM student at Ross University School of Veterinary Science

• Andrew Trudeau (B.S. Biology) - Comparisons of 16S and CO1 barcode markers in delineating two Caribbean nerite snails.

• Ethan O’Leary (B.S. Basic Science) - First report of Sinotaia cf. quadrata in North America based on morphological and molecular data

• Hannah Beebie (B.S. Biology) - Effects of CO2 induced acidification on shell dissolution of an invasive aquatic gastropod in northern NY.

• Lily Pettit (B.S. Environmental Engineering) - Effects of CO2 induced acidification on growth and shell repair of Viviparus georgainus in northern New York

• Meghan Edmund (B.S. Environmental Science & Policy) - Effects of CO2 induced acidification on growth and shell repair of Viviparus georgainus in northern New York

• Kasie Stamp (B.S. Biology) - Preliminary investigation into the monophyly of the Polydora-complex within the Spiondae based on CO1, 16S and 28S archive sequence datasets

• Michael Krick (B.S. Biology) - DNA barcoding polychaete worms collected from the 2018 New England Rapid Assessment Survey of non-indigenous marine species

• Kendall Gardner (B.S. Biology) - Repurposing archived CO1 sequence data to revisit the zebra mussel invasion of the Great Lakes of North America

• Thomas Pickett (B.S. Biology) - Global phylogeographic pattern of the invasive mollusc, Mytilus galloprovincialis using archived CO1 sequence data

• Ashley Lewis (B.S. Biology) - Taxonomic investigation of the Viviparidae in northern New York

• Hanson Zhou (B.S. Biology) - Statistical analysis of parasite load in the invasive mollusc, Viviparus georgianus from the Raquette River in northern New York

• Susie Verra (B.S. Biology) - DNA barcoding and genetic confirmation of the invasive gastropod, Viviparus georgianus from the Adirondack region of northern New York
  **now a practicing associate veterinarian (DVM) at Cornerstone Veterinary Hospital - Clifton Park, New York.