
Davinack Research Group @ Wheaton College


Former and Current Undergraduate Research Students and Projects
Research Students and Supervised Projects at Wheaton College (2022 - Present)
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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.
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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).
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Katie Vidic (B.A. Biology) – DNA barcoding of parasitic worms extracted from the invasive Japanese mystery snail Heterogen japonica (BIO 399 Independent Study)
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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)
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Eric Galindo (B.A. Biology) – Genetic diversity of Dirofilaria immitis variants from globally segregated populations (BIO 399 Independent Study)
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Maia Ondrasenek (B.A. Biology) – Genetic connectivity of Dirofilaria immitis variants from globally segregated populations.
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Ashley Barreto (B.S. Chemistry) – DNA barcoding of the Japanese mystery snail (Heterogen japonica) from California.
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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].
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Ava Sheedy (B.A. Biology and Anthropology) – DNA barcoding of Hydroides dianthus from New England marinas [BIO 399: Independent Study].
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Rachel Hickey (B.A. Biochemistry) – DNA barcoding of terebellid worms from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States [BIO 399: Independent Study]
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Viviana Schroeder (B.A. Biology)– Genetic characterization of the southern pine beetle from Nantucket Island. [BIO 399: Independent Study]
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Trisha Harithsa (B.A. Biology): Phylogeographic position of Mytilus edulis based on historical samples collected from the Baltic Sea (Poland). [BIO 399: Independent Study]
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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
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Sarah Barnum (B.S. Biology) - Global connectivity patterns of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium using contemporary and ancient DNA barcode data
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Carolyn Jessop (B.S. Biology) - Global connectivity of Sars-COV-2 based on analysis of the complete ORF1ab gene region
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Emma Foss (B.S. Biology, Environmental Science & Policy) - DNA barcoding of polychaetes collected from the New England coast (Polynoidae)
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Colleen Bullard (B.S. Biomolecular Science, Biology) - DNA barcoding of polychaetes collected from the New England coast (Terebellidae and Nerididae)
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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
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Arletty Arias (B.S. Biology) - Scanning the COVID-19 genome for candidate genes to use for phylogeographic analyses
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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
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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
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Kayli Harling (B.S. Biology) - Assessing the efficacy of the 12S DNA marker in delineating Mytilus galloprovincialis from Mytilus edulis
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Hallie Boyer (B.S. Biology) - Effects of carbon dioxide induced acidification on growth and shell repair rates of Planorbis snails from the Adirondack Park
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Julia Rizzo (B.S. Biology) - Effects of hypersalinity on native pond snails from the northeastern United States
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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
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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
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Andrew Trudeau (B.S. Biology) - Comparisons of 16S and CO1 barcode markers in delineating two Caribbean nerite snails.
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Ethan O’Leary (B.S. Basic Science) - First report of Sinotaia cf. quadrata in North America based on morphological and molecular data
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Hannah Beebie (B.S. Biology) - Effects of CO2 induced acidification on shell dissolution of an invasive aquatic gastropod in northern NY.
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Lily Pettit (B.S. Environmental Engineering) - Effects of CO2 induced acidification on growth and shell repair of Viviparus georgainus in northern New York
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Meghan Edmund (B.S. Environmental Science & Policy) - Effects of CO2 induced acidification on growth and shell repair of Viviparus georgainus in northern New York
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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
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Michael Krick (B.S. Biology) - DNA barcoding polychaete worms collected from the 2018 New England Rapid Assessment Survey of non-indigenous marine species
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Kendall Gardner (B.S. Biology) - Repurposing archived CO1 sequence data to revisit the zebra mussel invasion of the Great Lakes of North America
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Thomas Pickett (B.S. Biology) - Global phylogeographic pattern of the invasive mollusc, Mytilus galloprovincialis using archived CO1 sequence data
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Ashley Lewis (B.S. Biology) - Taxonomic investigation of the Viviparidae in northern New York
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Hanson Zhou (B.S. Biology) - Statistical analysis of parasite load in the invasive mollusc, Viviparus georgianus from the Raquette River in northern New York
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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.