Former SURF Fellows
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Student Name: LUKE MUELLER University and Major: University of New Hampshire, Environmental Engineering with a focus on Sustainability, Class of 2019 Mentor Name: Dr. Theodora Pinou SURF Year: 2017 Project: “Tracking Triploid Grass Carp in Candlewood Lake, Danbury, CT” Project Outcomes: Luke presented his work to the WCSU community in August 2017 Where is Luke Now? Luke is an environmental consultant for Environmental Resources Management, a company which is focused on sustainability. There, Luke specializes in Environmental Health and Safety. |
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Student Name: JASMINE GREY University and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Biology, Class of 2020 Mentor Name: Dr. Hannah Reynolds SURF Year: 2018 Project: “Developing LAMP (Loop-Amplification Mediated PCR) to be specific and sensitive for the detection of Pseudogymnoascus destructans” Project Outcomes: 1) Presented work to the WCSU Community in December 2018 2) Poster presentation at the Northeast Regional Sigma Xi Student Research Conference in April 2019 at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT 3) Won the Library Research Award at Western Research Day in 2019 4) Presented research findings at the Mycological Society of America meeting in 2020 (virtually) Where is Jasmine now? Jasmine is currently enrolled in the PhD program in Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Jasmine was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship to support her thesis work on germline stem cell survival in Drosophila. She is co-first author on a paper published in eLife on her thesis work. |
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Student Name: KAYLA DEGUZMAN University and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Biology, Class of 2019 Mentor Name: Dr. Theodora Pinou SURF Year: 2018 Project: “An interspecific behavior analysis of post-rehabilitated Long Island Sound juvenile sea turtles” Project Outcomes: 1) Presented work to the WCSU Community in December 2018 2) Poster presentation at the 2019 International Sea Turtle Symposium in Charleston, South Carolina 3) Poster presentation at the 2019 Long Island Sound Research Conference in Port Jefferson, New York 4) Publication: Robinson N., Deguzman K., Bonacci-Sullivan L., DiGiovanni R., Pinou T. 2020. Do rehabilitated sea turtles resume typical migratory behaviors? Satellite tracking juvenile loggerhead, green, and Kemp’s ridley turtles in the northeastern USA. Endangered Species Research 43: 133-143, DOI.org/10.3354/esr01065. Where is Kayla now? Kayla is finishing her Master of Science in Integrated Biological Diversity at WCSU while managing a long-term care pharmacy. . |
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Student Name: JACOB BETHIN University and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Biology – Ecological Sciences, Class of 2021 Mentor Name: Dr. Neeta Pardanani Connally SURF Year: 2019 Project: “Investigating the role of songbirds as hosts for the exotic Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, in the eastern US.” The project was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Holly Gaff at Old Dominion University in Virginia) and Dr. Chad Seewagen at Great Hollow Nature Preserve (Connecticut). Project Outcomes: 1) Presented at the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting [virtual] in 2020 2) Imaged a female Asian longhorned tick, which was featured in the following publication: Schappach B.L., Krell R.K., Hornbostel V.L., Connally N. P. 2020. Exotic Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the United States: Biology, Ecology, and Strategies for Management. Journal of Integrated Pest Management. 11: 1-11. DOI.org/10.1093/jipm/pmaa019 Where is Jacob now? Jacob entered a Master of Entomology program at the University of Florida in Fall 2022. Jacob’s program was fully funded as he has been working as a Graduate Research Assistant at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Jacob will be defending his thesis in 2024. |
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Student Name: EMILY HOEGLER University and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Biology – Class of 2021 Mentor Name: Dr. Joshua Cordeira SURF Year: 2020 (re-scheduled to 2021) Project: “Investigating the interrelationship between food, exercise, and dopamine.” Project Outcomes: (Virtual) poster presentation at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting 2021 Where is Emily now? Emily will be graduating in May 2024 with her J.D. from Regent University Law School after which she will take the bar exam. After this, Emily has plans to work as an Intensive Deputy Attorney General in the Litigation Division of the Indiana’s Attorney General’s office in August with the intention of becoming Deputy Attorney General. Emily wishes to work in public service. |
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Student Name: JAMES D. HANNON University and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Biology, Class of 2022 Mentor Name: Dr. Michelle Monette SURF Year: 2021 Project: “Investigating the impact of warm temperature on the osmoregulatory flexibility of Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus).” Project Outcomes: 1) Presented work to the University community in December 2021, 2) Received an Undergraduate Research Fellowship ($5,000) from Connecticut Sea Grant, 3) Received a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research ($1,000) Where is James now? James is working as an Aquatic Specialist at the Pond and Lake Connection in Brookfield, CT, in charge of aquatic weed control on residential and public waters. He is also pursuing a Master’s in GIS from an online program at Penn State University. |
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Student Name: JOCELYN VILLACRESES University and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Biology, Class of 2024 Mentor Name: Dr. Michelle Monette SURF Year: 2022 Project: “The role of osmotic stress transcription factor in seawater acclimation in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)” Project Outcomes: Jocelyn presented her work at Western Research Day in May 2023. Jocelyn continued her research project with Dr. Monette in the Spring of 2023 as part of BIO490 Advanced Senior Research. Jocelyn also presented her SURF and BIO 490 findings at the Science of Integrative and Comparative Biology Conference in Seattle, Washington in January 2024. Where is Jocelyn now? Jocelyn will be graduating with a B.A. in Biology in May 2024. |
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Student Name: HANNAH DALY University and Major: Western CT State University, Biology Major with a concentration in ecological science Mentor Name: Dr. Theodora Pinou SURF Year: 2023 Project: “An Investigation into the Diversity and Abundance of Sea Turtle Epibionts 12 Years After the Deepwater Horizon Oil-Spill” Project Outcomes: Hannah plans to present at Western Research Day in May 2024 Where is Hannah now? Hannah will continue her research with Dr. Pinou this following spring in 2024 for her BIO-490 advanced senior research project. |
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Student Name: SOPHIA CHIAIA University and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Biology major with a minor in Chemistry Mentor Name: Dr. Jianjun Sun (UConn) SURF Year: 2023 Project: The effect of the foraging gene on important biological functions such as sperm storage, egg laying, and hatchability in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Project Outcomes: By tagging the foraging gene with GFP she saw that the gene was effectively knocked down in the spermathecae and parovaria of two RNAi lines and showed a phenotypic effect. She presented her results at a REU poster presentation over the summer. Where is Sophia now? She is finishing her final semester at WCSU, during which she will write a short paper with Dr. Connally on data analyzed from the Tick Lab behind human-tick encounters. She will also be applying to graduate programs in the area. |
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