Featured Graduate Alumni

Jonathan Allen

Advisor: Dr. Shimada 
Thesis: Fossil vertebrates from a unique marine bonebed of the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk, western Kansas, U.S.A.: new insights into the Niobrara vertebrate paleoecology
Graduated: 2021
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program University of Louisiana

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Mattina Alonge

Advisor: Dr. Bystriansky 
Thesis: Muscle Na+/K+ ATPase isoform regulation in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) following burst and sustained swimming challenges.
Graduated: 2013
After Graduation: PhD Program at University of California Berkeley

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Uriel Baray

Advisor: Dr. Silliker 
Thesis: Developing a transfection method for Didymium iridis
Graduated: 2019
After Graduation: Research Associate Exicure

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Rima Barkauskas

Advisor: Dr. Sparkes 
Thesis: Effects of abiotic and biotic stress on patterns of energy storage and use in two species of crustacean: Gammarus pseudolimnaeus and Caecidotea intermedius.
Graduated: 2002
After Graduation: Faculty at DePaul University (Biology)

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Claire Behrens

Advisor: Dr. Heneghan 
Thesis: Effects of the Manipulation of Aboveground Plant Diversity in Restoration Management on the Diversity of Belowground Arthropod Assemblage
Graduated: 2012
After Graduation: Faculty at DePaul University (Biology)

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Roberto Cucalon

Advisor: Dr. Aguirre 
Thesis: Phylogeography of the Neotropical Fish Genus Rhoadsia (Teleostei: Characidae) in Ecuador
Graduated: 2019
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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Cesar Fuentes

Advisor: Dr. Aguirre and Dr. McMahan 
Thesis:  Niche overlap in sympatric Rocio (Teleostei: Cichlidae) of Guatemala.
Graduated: 2022
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program University of Illinois Chicago

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David Hohl

Advisor: Dr. LaMontagne 
Thesis:  Changes over time in tree cavity availability across habitats in a highly urban area.
Graduated: 2022
After Graduation: NA.

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Naseem Jamnia

Advisor: Dr. Kozlowski 
Thesis: A clinically relevant closed-head model of single and repeat concussive injuries in the adult rat using a controlled cortical impact device.
Graduated: 2015
After Graduation: Research technician at Rosalind Franklin University

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Dale Kopp

Advisor: Dr. Silliker 
Thesis: Assembly of the Didymium iridis mitochondrial genome by genome walking
Graduated: 2012
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program Penn State University

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Maxwell London

Advisor: Dr. Shimada 
Thesis: A new pachyrhizodontid fish (Actinopterygii: Teleostei) from the Tarrant Formation (Cenomanian) of the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group of Texas, U.S.A.
Graduated: 2019
After Graduation: Research Technician Field Museum of Natural History

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Annie McIntosh

Advisor: Dr. Shimada 
Thesis: Geometric morphometric analysis of the pedal claw of the Early Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis sanctus
Graduated: 2017
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program University of Alberta

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David Osiecki

Advisor: Dr. Gilliland 
Thesis: Effects of mad2 deficiency on chromosome segregation in Drosophila female meiosis
Graduated: 2014
After Graduation: AbbVie Inc.

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Daniel Reyes

Advisor: Dr. Aguirre 
Thesis: Effects of temperature and water Flow on morphology of Astyanax mexicanus (Teleostei: Characidae)
Graduated: 2015
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program McGill University

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Simone Rhodes

Advisor: Dr. Bell 
Thesis: Effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on mood and motivated behaviors in adolescent rats.
Graduated: 2022
After Graduation: Medical School Central Michigan University

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Sean Schaefer

Advisor: Dr. Silliker 
Thesis: Zygote gene expression and plasmodial development in Didymium iridis
Graduated: 2019
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program University of New Hampshire

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Ciaran Shaughnessy

Advisor: Dr. Bystriansky 
Thesis: Physiological Effects of Aquatic Hypercarbia on Seawater Acclimation in the White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)
Graduated: 2015
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program at University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Phillip Sternes

Advisor: Dr. Shimada 
Thesis: Body forms in sharks (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii), and their functional, ecological, and evolutionary implications
Graduated: 2019
After Graduation: Ph.D. Program University of California Riverside

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Sara Teemer

Advisor: Dr. Sparkes 
Graduated: 2019
Thesis: Modification of host behavior and transmission in the acanthocephalan Acanthocephalus dirus: effects of development, intraspecific conflict, and host sex After Graduation: Ph.D. Program University of Virginia

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Jennie Wahl (Murphy)

Advisor: Dr. Kozlowski 
Graduated: 2003
Thesis: Gene delivery of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) prior to traumatic brain injury: differential effects on anatomy and behavior.

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Myles Walsh

Advisor: Dr. Shimada