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Department of Biology
258 Science Building
Cheney, WA 99004
phone: 509.359.2339

Biology Graduate Students

For additional information about the graduate program, please click on the link below:

Graduate Program

 

  • Jacob Andrew
    Jacob Andrew
    Graduate Student - Joyner-Matos Lab
    I look at the effects of environmental stress in genetically mutated nematodes as a correlate for stress susceptibility.
  • Alixandria Blake
    Alixandria Blake
    Graduate Student - Scholz Lab
    "My graduate work focuses on the hatchery released and wild kokanee salmon spawning returns in Lake Roosevelt. I will be performing an assessment of the hatchery program from 2010-2012. I have worked in Dr.Scholz' lab for two years now, helping on many projects. I have helped on a predation study of walleye and smallmouth bass in the Sanpoil River, Bull trout tracking in the Pend Orielle system, kokanee acoustic tracking in Lake Roosevelt, and various other task in the fisheries lab. In my undergraduate years i also helped a graduate student collect data on coyote abundance using vocalizations; as well as, some experience tracking elk on Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge."
  • Amelia Bothwell
    Amelia Bothwell
    Graduate Student - Castillo Lab
  • Aaron Clausen
    Aaron Clausen
    Graduate Student - Brown Lab
    I organize and analyze vegetation surveys, substrate analysis (pebble counts), and topographic information at the Elwha river in Olympic National Park to eventually make some premise(s) about riparian vegetation in that area.
  • Carolyn Connelly
    Carolyn Connelly
    Graduate Student - McNeely Lab
  • Dustin Cousins
    Dustin Cousins
    Graduate Student - O'Connell Lab

    The majority of my education has been in the field of wildlife conservation. I received my undergraduate degrees in Biology and Environmental Science from EWU in 2009. I was an AmeriCorps Intern for 2 years  at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. For the past 3 summers I have worked as a field technician monitoring wildlife and wildlife habitats for a habitat restoration project through Eastern Washington University and the Upper Columbia United Tribes. For my Masters' research I am investigating the sensory modalities used in underground navigation by the northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides).


  • Brittany Davidson
    Brittany Davidson
    Graduate Student - Brown Lab

    I evaluate ecological function provided by bank stabilization in the Box Canyon Reservoir; research interests include stream/wetland restoration; linkages between ecology and  hydrogeomorphology; human impacts in stream/wetland ecosystems; integration of scienctific information with management/planning processes.

  • Denise Davis
    Denise Davis
    Graduate Student - McNeely Lab
    I received my Bachelor's in Biology from EWU in 2006. I have taken classes related to ecology, conservation, habitat restoration, environmental science, wetlands, and GIS.  I am currently studding the effects of agricultural runoff on the aquatic invertebrate communities in the Latah creek watershed.
  • Adam Gebauer
    Adam Gebauer
    Graduate Student - Brown Lab

    I have a background in wildlife biology from the University of Rhode Island.  I have had  field jobs working with Lesser Prairie Chickens, Spotted Salamanders, Porcupines, invasive weeds in Yellowstone NP, and Northern Goshawks here in eastern Washington.  For four years I worked with the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program in Abuquerque, New Mexico monitoring the health of the riparian ecosystem along the Middle Rio Grand Valley.  Through all these experiences I have worked closely with middle and high school students and have most recently taught science to  middle school students in Maine.  My research interests are in plant ecology and restoration  management. I am currently looking at how the water use of the invasive reed canary grass affects the stream flow in small creeks in eastern Washington.

  • Conor Giorgi
    Conor Giorgi
    Graduate Student - McNeely Lab
    I am studying the ecology of benthic macroinveretebrates and their production in lotic systems.
  • Gwendolyn Hartman
    Gwendolyn Hartman
    Graduate Student - Kasuga Lab
  • Lorraine Heath
    Lorraine Heath
    Graduate Student - Brown Lab
  • Andrew Hodgson
    Andrew Hodgson
    Graduate Student - Black Lab
    My background is in aquatic ecology.  My current project is to determine whether brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) prey color preferences predict mate color preferences in sticklebacks generally.
  • Michele Larson
    Michele Larson
    Graduate Student - Black Lab

    I am pursuing my second Master's degree from EWU. I have a Master's in Education and was a high school biology teacher in Western Washington. I have returned to the Cheney area to obtain my Master's in biology with a focus in freshwater aquatic ecosystems. My area of interest is in invasive species and gastropods. I will be conducting research on the distribution and diversity of snails near Lewiston Idaho. I will be determining if New Zealand mud snails have invaded the Snake River below Hell's Canyon between the Grand Ronde River and the Clearwater River.  I will also be conducting laboratory experiments to determine the extent of competition between native snails and New Zealand mud snails and possibly determine the underlying reason(s) for these competitive interactions.

  • Elizabeth Lindsey
    Elizabeth Lindsey
    Graduate Student - Scholz Lab
  • Dava Lomax
    Dava Lomax
    Graduate Student - Herr Lab
  • Kevin Mahoney
    Kevin Mahoney
    Graduate Student - Scholz Lab
  • Amanda Matthiessen
    Amanda Matthiessen
    Graduate Student - Herr Lab
  • Gayle May
    Gayle May
    Graduate Student - Carlberg Lab
    My background is in human and animal physiology.  I will be determining the effects of Diethylstilbestrol on myometrial contractility in mice.
  • Lucy Morgan
    Lucy Morgan
    Graduate Student - Kusuga Lab
  • Gaayathiri Paramasivam
    Gaayathiri Paramasivam
    Graduate Student - Bhuta Lab
    I'm trying to produce citric acid using apple pomace as a substrate.
  • Tyler Parsons
    Tyler Parsons
    Graduate Student - Scholz Lab
  • Cassandra Pharr
    Cassandra Pharr
    Graduate Student - Hancock Lab
    My thesis topic is:  "The Effects of Swim Training on Juvenile Kokanee Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi)"
  • Brandy Reynecke
    Brandy Reynecke
    Graduate Student - Brown Lab
  • Cody Schoonover
    Cody Schoonover
    Graduate Student - Joyner-Matos
  • Cristine Schucker
    Cristine Schucker
    Graduate Student - McNeely Lab

    I earned my B.S. in Biology from EWU in the Spring of 2011.  Some of the research I completed as an undergraduate included:  Notonecta/Daphnia predation; antimicrobial effectiveness of Manuka honey methylglyoxal against Candida albicans; freshwater phosphorus loading in the Spokane River Basin in conjunction with cyanobacteria population growth along a phosphorus nutrient addition gradient; the isolation and amplification of and sequence comparison between Lactuca chloroplast genes (RuBisCo); and microbial load assessment/pathogen screening of locally sold raw milk.  My Graduate research focuses on the molecular characterization of microbial communities in Latah watershed sediments.  Specifically I am interested in the anthropogenic effects on this first level of the biogeochemical cycle and the possibility of gauging stream health with this method.

     

  • Devin Sontag
    Devin Sontag
    Graduate Student - Scholz Lab
    I will be looking at the interactions between flow and predation on salmonids in the Snake River.
  • Sarah Stankavich
    Sarah Stankavich
    Graduate Student - O'Connell Lab
    I grew up in northeast Ohio and graduated from the University of Akron with a BS in Biology. After graduation I worked as a biology intern with a county park in Ohio. In this capacity, I was involved with a variety of projects including radio tracking coyotes, mist netting bats, small mammal surveys, endangered plant monitoring, and invasive species control. I began my Masters' program in Fall 2011 and am in the process of designing a research project focused on winter activity of bats.
  • Terence Stephens
    Terence Stephens
    Graduate Student - Bhuta Lab
  • Savanah Hobbs Walker
    Savanah Hobbs Walker
    Graduate Student - O'Connell Lab
    A native of Zillah WA, I received my BS in Zoology from Washington State University in 2010. While at WSU I gained experience working with captive mule deer and grizzly bears at the WSU animal facilities. I came to EWU in Fall 2010. My Masters' research examines the effectiveness of predator urine in deterring elk from browsing aspen on Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge initiated a hunt on portions of the refuge in fall 2010 with the broad management objective of reducing elk  damage to aspen. However, preliminary radio telemetry data collected by another graduate student in our lab suggest that during the hunting season elk move into portions of the refuge, such as the public use area, where hunting in not feasible. In addition to examining the feasibility of using non lethal methods to deter elk browsing on aspen, I will continue montoring elk movements during a second hunting season on the refuge.
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