Graduate Research Assistants Doctoral
Emily Bertucci
Lab: Parrott
Odum School of Ecology
Interested in ecological physiology and investigating how the environment influences development, genetic modifications, and the health of organisms
Denzell Cross
Lab: Capps
Odum School of Ecology
Research investigates the long-term and historical impacts of development and urbanization on aquatic insect communities in Atlanta, Georgia, including exploring functional responses of stream invertebrates using species’ traits in order to determine which traits allow stream biota to survive in urbanizing regions
Jennifer McDaniel
Lab: Aubrey
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Broadly interested in forest ecology; current research focuses on fire ecology and tree physiology or the physiology of trees
Emma Kelsick
Lab: Bier and Lance
Odum School of Ecology
Interested in the influence of land management practices on terrestrial and aquatic microbial structures and nutrient processing
Kiersten Nelson
Lab: Lance
Odum School of Ecology
Interested in conservation, herpetology, ecotoxicology, wetland ecology, and disease ecology; research focuses on factors that influence amphibian community dynamics in the Southeast
Scott Oswald
Lab: Aubrey
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Research interests are primarily in plant physiology and ecology as well as the use of mathematical modeling to study patterns in plant physiology
Shinyoung Park
PhD in Integrative Conservation and Ecology (ICON)
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
My research focuses on the conservation practices in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and Civilian Control Zone with a concentration on the human-wildlife interactions in crane feeding practices and their social-ecological effects on the Korean DMZ.
Jessica Patterson
Lab: Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Research focuses primarily on the effects of tourism pressure on African mammal behavior, movement, and spatial ecology; investigating African carnivore diets to understand how predators may be interacting with livestock and the broader landscape in areas of high human-carnivore conflict; interests include conservation biology, species interactions, human-wildlife conflict, and the effects of anthropogenic activities on ecosystem health and wildlife behavior
Christian Swartzbaugh
Lab: Lance and Capps
Odum School of Ecology
Interests include behavioral ecology, biodiversity and community ecology of fishes; research focuses on the effects of legacy contaminants on freshwater fish communities
Ethan Shealy
Lab: Parrott
Odum School of Ecology
Research focuses on how an organism’s environment and epigenome interact to produce different phenotypes, especially those associated with development and aging trajectories; interests include evolution, genomics, ecotoxicology, and integrative approaches to biology
Jake Smith
Lab: Xu and Hazelton
Interdisciplinary Toxicology
Research uses molecular methods to evaluate the effects of environmental contamination on soil bacterial assemblages; interests include ecotoxicology, ecological genetics, community ecology, and restoration ecology
Graduate Research Assistants Masters
Fabiola Lopez Avila
Research focuses on analyzing the effects of microplastics on freshwater bivalves and the relationship between macro-plastics and microbial communities.
Helen Bontrager
Lab: Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Interested in the spatial and radioecology of wild boar in and around the Fukushima Exclusion Zone
Viviana P. Bravo
Lab: Bier and Capps
Odum School of Ecology
Research will identify and evaluate pollution-sensitive aquatic macroinvertebrate communities distributed across five major stream systems on the Savannah River Site; research interests are conservation of freshwater ecosystems, land use, sustainable development, and climate change
Sydney Brewer
Lab: Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Research focuses on the movement ecology of wild pigs to understand their response to different baits and lures; interests include wildlife management and conservation, human-wildlife interactions, spatial ecology, and wildlife disease
Vienna Canright
Lab: Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Conducting research on the environmental impacts of wild pigs with a focus on using molecular methods to determine wild pig food habits; interests include wildlife conservation and management, behavioral ecology, and human-wildlife conflict
Kelly Holland, AWB®
Lab: Tuberville and Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Research interests include conservation of threatened and endangered species, human-wildlife conflict, and habitat management; research will compare biological communities in historically contaminated sites to reference sites within SRS to inform future remediation efforts
Brittany E. Jensen
Lab: Xu and Bringolf
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Interested in ecotoxicology, biogeochemistry, and environmental remediation; current research investigates the utilization of biochar, a form of charcoal, for remediation of mercury from contaminated soil
Josiah Johnson
Lab: Parrott
Odum School of Ecology
Research focuses on the impacts of environmental contamination and temperature on amphibian sex ratios with implications for long-term population viability; research interests include wildlife conservation, behavioral ecology, and herpetology
Laura Kojima
Lab: Parrott
Odum School of Ecology
Research focuses on assessing contaminant loads in alligator tail muscle and the degree to which alligators travel onto and off of the Savannah River Site to investigate exposure concerns associated with the public harvest and consumption of alligators in the region
Craig Marshall
Lab: Martin
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Investigating gopher tortoise ecology in pine production forests of the Southeastern United States
Adam McFall
Lab: Lance
Odum School of Ecology
Research investigates carryover effects and habitat impacts in at-risk amphibians to help improve headstarting and habitat management strategies; research interests include conservation ecology, behavioral ecology, wetland ecology, ecotoxicology, and herpetology
Madeline Melton
Lab: Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Current research focuses on the effects of human settlements, conservation fencing, and livestock in regard to African carnivore movement and occupancy; research interests include carnivore behavioral ecology, human-wildlife conflict, and urban wildlife ecology.
Carson Pakula
Lab: Travis DeVault
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Interested in behavioral ecology, wildlife conservation, and human-wildlife interactions; research investigates the behavior of deer and wild pigs to help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions
Kathryn Quinlin
Lab: Xu and Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Interested in ecotoxicology, community ecology, and conservation; research will focus on the impacts of radiocaesium and mercury on aquatic communities and the efficacy of remedial activities within the Savannah River Site
Ryan Rimple
Lab: Tracey Tuberville and Kohl
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Interests include conservation, life history strategies, and factors influencing reproductive success of individuals; current research involves investigating translocations of formerly captive eastern box turtles into the wild and post-translocation reproductive success.
Shelby Simons
Lab: Martin
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Conservation management, declining species, and movement ecology; research will focus on translocated northern bobwhite from private to public land (Apalachicola National Forest) and assess movement, habitat use and site fidelity
Christopher Smaga
Lab: Parrott
Odum School of Ecology
From the level of DNA to cells to whole organisms, research is focused on the impact the environment has on embryonic development; studying alligators to determine the consequences of environmental contaminants on embryonic gonadal development and the epigenome to understand how these translate into later life stages and overall health; interests include general ecology, physiology, and behavior of reptiles and amphibians
Tucker Stonecypher
Lab: Lance
Odum School of Ecology
Studying wetland restoration techniques to improve wetland plant communities for at-risk amphibians; investigating head-starting practices to increase juvenile survival in Carolina gopher frogs; interested in restoration ecology, herpetology, wetland plant communities, and disturbance ecology
Chuck Taylor, AWB®
Lab: Beasley
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Research involves wild pig population dynamics and using game cameras to estimate wild pig populations; investigating various trap types for wild pigs and their individual efficacies; interests include wildlife-human conflict, invasive species, behavioral ecology, and the conservation and management of game species
Jack H. Taylor
Lab: Aubrey
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Research is focused on how consistent prescribed fire treatments given at various intervals affect a tree’s growth rate and the stand’s structure
Kristen Zemaitis
Research is focused on the ecotoxicology and diet of American alligators in the southeast; research interests include their reproductive behavior, genetics, and spatial ecology