College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Major Advisor:

Kim Scribner

 Background:

I graduated from Miami University (Ohio) in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Science. Following my graduation, I moved back to my hometown of Chicago, IL where I worked for several research institutes (Shedd Aquarium, University of Illinois, and DuPage County Forest Preserve) on a variety of topics including freshwater mussel genetic diversity, yellow perch population dynamics, Lake Michigan benthic community surveys, and stream/river species diversity assessments. At Michigan State University, I am working in the Molecular Ecology Lab under Dr. Kim Scribner examining the viability of prey DNA in the guts of sea lamprey. The project is in collaboration with several groups including the USGS, GLFC, and USFWS. Overall, the goal of the project is to validate the use of DNA metabarcoding for diet analysis of sea lamprey along with applying the technique to lamprey from Lakes Superior, Huron, and Champlain. Outside of my project, I enjoy activities such as hiking, photography, graphic design, video editing, and reading.