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Mildred Akagha

Mildred Akagha, Johansen Lab
Office: D-W119
Phone: 216.397.3077
Email: makagha22@jcu.edu

I graduated from the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 2014. As an undergraduate, my research focused on the Antioxidant effect of aqueous ethanolic extract of Anthocleista vogelii on wistar albino rats intoxicated with Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). I further evaluated the proximate composition and lipid profile of Nitzschia sp. isolated from a tidal creek in Lagos state as a graduate student. I am currently exploring systematic taxonomy and phylogenetic analysis of cyanobacteria from understudied ecosystems for my masters research project in Dr. Johansen’s lab at John Carroll University.

 

Micah Ashford

Micah Ashford, Watling Lab
Office: D-W234
Phone: 216.397.
Email: mashford22@jcu.edu

My research interests vary from conservation practices to endangered species management and my professional career has followed these interests. My project goals at John Carroll University are to examine landscape thermal heterogeneity and refine methods for spatial, thermal data collection using modern technology.

 

 

Antoinette Esposito

Antoinette Esposito, Watling Lab
Office:D-W234
Phone: 216.397
Email: aesposito23@jcu.edu

I received my B.S. in Wildlife Science from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2019. My research interests include landscape ecology and conservation practices. Specifically, I plan to study the optimization of landscape design between human needs and biodiversity conservation.

 

 

 

Teah Evers

Teah Evers, Anthony/Hickerson Lab
Office: D-W341
Phone: 216.397.6206
Email: tevers22@jcu.edu

I received by B.S. in Biology (Ecology and Environmental Biology) from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate, I did research on territoriality and sex-specific spatial movement in the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). At John Carroll, I will be in the Anthony/Hickerson lab continuing my research with this polymorphic salamander. Specifically, I will be applying my knowledge of territoriality to compare range edge and range core populations.

 

Kelsey Garner

Kelsey Garner, Anthony/Hickerson Lab
Office: D-W112
Phone: 216.397.6207
Email: kgarner22@jcu.edu

I am interested in whether behaviors such as aggression, dispersal, and exploration are repeatable in a given individual; if so, are they often observed together, as a behavioral syndrome. Specifically, do behavioral differences exist between range-core and range-edge populations of Eastern Red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus), and if so, what evolutionary and ecological aspects contributed to such divergence.

 

 

Joy Jackson

Joy Jackson, Johansen Lab
Office: D-W119
Phone: 216.397.3077
Email: jjackson22@jcu.edu

I am currently enrolled in the M.S Biology program. I am interested in aquatic ecology specifically, freshwater systems. My thesis research is focused on analyzing benthic diatom communities in Lake George, NY to further understand the effects of cultural eutrophication.

 

 

Monika Luketic

Monika Luketic, Johnson Lab
Office: D-W114
Phone: 216.397
Email: mluketic19@jcu.edu

I spent my undergraduate years studying at John Carroll University, I graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Hispanic Studies in 2019. I am interested in many aspects of microbiology, more specifically immunology and the human immune system. I am excited about this opportunity now more than ever because the recent pandemic has shown the world how crucial the work of microbiologists and immunologists truly is.
 

 

 

Ryan Mayer

Ryan Mayer,  Anthony/Hickerson Lab
Office:D-W129
Phone: 216.397
Email: rmayer23@jcu.edu

I graduated with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut in 2019. As an undergraduate, I studied the relationship between environmental conditions and morphology of a woodland salamander species, Plethodon cinereus. At John Carroll, I will continue to study P. cinereus behavior in the Anthony/Hickerson Lab.

 

 

 

Abigail Perrino

Abigail Perrino, Drenovsky Lab
Office: W239
Phone: 216.397.1720
Email: aperrino21@jcu.edu

I received my B. A. in Biology in 2010 from Judson University. Since then I have done botanical studies and wetland surveys for both research and regulatory purposes for several organizations across the Midwest. I am excited to be a part of the Drenovsky lab, studying plant ecology.

 

Rebecca Reicholf

Rebecca Reicholf,  Drenovsky Lab
Office: W240
Phone: 216.397.1720
Email: rreicholf19@jcu.edu

I graduated from John Carroll in December of 2018 with a B.S. in Biology and minors in Chemistry and French.  As an undergraduate, I did research on a variety of projects related to plant physiology and ecology.  Following graduation, I worked at the University of California,  Davis in a USDA ARS lab that focused on aquatic weed ecology and physiology.  I am very grateful for the opportunity to return to John Carroll and further my research on plant biology with Dr. Drenovsky.





 

Rachel Snyder

  Rachel Snyder, Watling Lab
  Office: W311
  Phone: 216.397
  Email: rsnyder22@jcu.edu

I graduated with a B.S in Ecology from Susquehanna University in 2017. As an undergrad, I did research on the red-backed salamander and examined how forest roads and streams  influence their movement. After graduating, I studied the plastic hatching of red-eyed treefrog embryos in Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. I also worked at the Memphis Zoo doing conservation research with Fowler's toads, dusky gopher frogs, and northern leopard frogs. I am now a second year M.S. Biology student, and I am interested in how amphibians are influenced by changes in environmental conditions within a landscape. Specifically, I am studying how forest edges influence biological responses of the strawberry poison frog in Costa Rica.
 

Emily Staufer

Emily Staufer,  Saporito Lab
Office:D-W108
Phone: 216.397
Email: estaufer23@jcu.edu

I graduated from Lake Forest College with my B.A. in Biology and minor in Environmental Studies in May 2019. As an undergraduate, I researched ant populations across an urban-rural matrix and had the opportunity to work at a local wildlife nature center, caring for everything from local snake species to rescued sloths. I spent the last year working as a naturalist throughout the Cleveland Metroparks. I am excited to be a member of the Saporito lab and will be focusing my research on maternal provisioning of alkaloids in the Oophaga genus of dendrobatid frogs.

 

Amanda Szinte

Amanda Szinte, Johansen Lab
Office: D-W342
Phone: 216.397.4496 or 216.397.3077
Email: aszinte22@jcu.edu

I’m a second year M.S. Biology student interested in studying algal ecology and systematics. I graduated from Ohio University in May 2019 with research projects including eDNA within stream biofilms and freshwater red algae. My thesis research will be focused on using morphological and molecular data to identify cyanobacteria in gypsum soil biocrusts from White Sands, New Mexico.


 

Noah Va Ee

Noah Van Ee,  Watling Lab
Office:D-W216
Phone: 216.397
Email: nvanee23@jcu.edu

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2015 with a B.S. Wildlife Ecology: Research and Management. Since graduation I have worked primarily with invasive herpetofauna for the US Geological Survey’s Invasive Species Science Branch. I am interested in diversifying my experience and plan to research habitat fragmentation, patch size, and species diversity dynamics.
 

 

 

Katie Waters
Office:D-W112
Phone: 216.397-6207
Email: kwaters20@jcu.edu