Graduate Student Directory
Deborah Alademehin
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Stephen Coghlan
Research Topic: Can Freshwater Fisheries Provide Sustenance in an Age of Scarcity, Simplification, and Strife? A Biophysical Economic Analysis of Ice-Angling for Panfish in Central Maine.
Location: 220 Nutting Hall
Alicia Bachman
M.S. Student
Advisor: Katharine Ruskin and Brian Olsen
Research Topic: Nest site heritability in marsh sparrows, and the effects of saltmarsh vegetation structure on habitat use
Location: Nutting 202
alicia.bachman@maine.edu
Kate Behrens
Ph.D. Student & Ecosystem Science NRT
Advisor: Dr. Tora Johnson and Dr. Jessica Jansujwicz
Research Topic: Repairing relationships between parties involved in the entanglement of North Atlantic right whales in commercial lobster fishing gear
Location: Libby Hall
kate.behrens@maine.edu
Ali Bello
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Rachel Schattman
Research Topic: Impact of temperature and precipitation change on wild blueberries
Location: 206 Roger Clapp Greenhouse
ali.bello@maine.edu
Sydney Berkeley
M.S. Student
Advisor: Peter Avis
Research Topic: Aquatic fungal parasitism and harmful algal bloom ecology
Location: 170 Hitchner Hall
sydney.berkeley@maine.edu
Marceline Bonner
M.S. Student
Advisor: Jessica Leahy
Research Topic: Human Dimensions of Climate Change
Location: Libby Hall Room 106E
marceline.bonner@maine.edu
Eric Brown
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Danielle Levesque
Research Topic: A comparative investigation of sciurid energetics and thermoregulation
Location: Sawyer 210
eric.brown1@maine.edu
Katherine Daza
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Lauren Ross
Research Topic: Estuarine hydrodynamics and their relation to the abundance and movements of marine species and migratory shorebirds
Location: Boardman Hall Room 229
katherine.daza@maine.edu
Sequoia Dixon
M.S. Student
Advisor: Dr. Matthew Chatfield
Research Topic: Population and movement ecology of wood turtles on Maine’s working lands
Location: Hitchner Hall
sequoia.dixson@maine.edu
Alyson East
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Sydne Record
Research Topic: Disturbance, biodiversity, and landscape ecology in Northeastern forests
a.east.ecology@gmail.com
Emma Francoeur
M.S. Student
Advisor: Heather Leslie and Hillary Smith
Research Topic: Community-Engaged Science in the Damariscotta River
Location: Libby Hall
emma.francoeur@maine.edu
Michael Galli
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Allison Gardner and Dr. Philip Fanning
Research Topic: Tick Control using pesticides and landscape modification
Location: Deering 209
michael.g.galli@maine.edu
Melissa Godin
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Caroline Noblet
Research Topic: Economics of PFAS contamination; wildlife-related food use and risk perception; salt marsh migration and landowner decision-making.
Location: Winslow 306
melissa.godin@maine.edu
Thomas Grindle
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Jasmine Saros
Research Topic: Understanding the link between climate change and Arctic lake systems through paleolimnology and active monitoring
Location: Sawyer Environmental Sciences Center
thomas.grindle@maine.edu
Kayla Guthrie
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Jasmine Saros
Research Topic: Nutrient cycling in glacially fed lakes, terrestrial-aquatic linkages
Location: Sawyer 137
kayla.guthrie@maine.edu
Will Hallett
M.S. Student
Advisor: Leonard Kass and David Hiebeler
Research Topic: I study how the human visual system constructs rich multi-object scenes from simple light and shape features using a mathematical modeling approach called symbolic dynamics. I find this interesting because it helps us to understand to what extent humans inherit distinct visual cues from their environments during perception and decision-making.
Location: Murray Hall, Room 201
will.hallett@maine.edu
Holland Haverkamp
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Brian Olsen and Dr. Sandra De Urioste-Stone
Research Topic: Offshore wind development and its impacts on coastal ecosystems
Holland.haverkamp@maine.edu
Alexandra Heller
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Erin Simons and Michael Premer
Research Topic: Classifying Maine Forest Ecosystems for Climate Resilience
alexandra.heller@maine.edu
Olivia Henning
M.S. Student
Advisor: Dr. Jessica Leahy
Research Topic: Environmental, Social, and Financial Impacts of Green burial and Conservation Cemeteries
o.eckard@maine.edu
Brigit Humphreys
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Pauline Kamath
Research Topic: PFAS in Maine’s game species
Location: 212 Nutting Hall
brigit.humphreys@maine.edu
Lara Katz
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Erik Blomberg & Dr. Joe Zydlewski
Research Topic: A Structured Decision-Making Framework to Guide Wild Turkey Population and Harvest Management in Maine
Location: Nutting 232A
lara.katz@maine.edu
Joelle Kilchenmann
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Joshua Stoll
Research Topic: Human dimensions of the Maine lobster fishery
Location: 227 Libby Hall
joelle.kilchenmann@maine.edu
Jay Kim
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Keith Evans and Yong Chen
Research Topic: Adaptations to climate change in the Maine Lobster Fishery through bio-economic analysis
Location: Wiscasset, ME; Orono UMaine campus
jaeheon.kim@maine.edu
Gregory Kronisch
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Michael Kinnison & Dr. Nathan Furey (University of New Hampshire)
Research Topic: Ecology of Arctic Charr trophic phenotypes and their potential resilience to climate change
Location: 307 Murray Hall
gregory.kronisch@maine.edu
Samuel Kwame Dassi
M.S. Student
Advisor: Todd Gabe
Research Topic: Ecology of Arctic Charr trophic phenotypes and their potential resilience to climate change
Location: Room 306, Winslow Hall
samuel.dassi@maine.edu
Avery Lamb
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Jasmine Saros
Research Topic: Using paleolimnology and sedimentary eDNA to assess links between climate change and cyanoHABs in Maine lakes
Location: Sawyer 206B
avery.lamb@maine.edu
Jasmine Lamb
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Sharon Klein
Research Topic: Creating a local climate and energy action network for organizations and municipalities in Maine
Location: Winslow Hall
jasmine.lamb@maine.edu
Sonia Leone
M.S. Student
Advisor: Dr. Sharon Klein
Research Topic: Community-Based Participatory Research and Climate Resilience
Location: Norman Smith Hall, Room 104
sonia.leone@maine.edu
Maggie McAuliffe (she/her)
M.S. Student
Advisor: Thomas Rounsville
Research Topic: Babesia microti and Babesia odocoilei genetic sequencing
Location: UMaine Cooperative Extension Diagnostic and Research Laboratory
sonia.leone@maine.edu
Marisa Monroe
M.S. Student
Advisor: Dr. Noah Charney
Research Topic: Using community science to study amphibian road crossings in Acadia National Park
Location: 202 Nutting Hall
marisa.monroe@maine.edu
Paulina Murray
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Aaron Weiskittel and Erin Simons-Legaard
Research Topic: coastal oak-pine forest management and resiliency
paulina.murray@maine.edu
Zahra Najjar Khodabakhsh
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Parinaz Rahimzadeh
Research Topic: Forest Health Monitoring
zahra.najjar@maine.edu
Margaret O’Brien
M.S. Student
Advisor: Jasmine Saros
Research Topic: Paleolimnology and using diatoms to reconstruct late Holocene lake levels in the Arctic
margaret.m.obrien@maine.edu
Emmanuel Ohemeng
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Travis Miller
Research Topic: Comparative Embodied Carbon and Operational Energy Assessment
of Conventional and Low-Carbon Building Assemblies in Different U.S. Climate Zones.
Location: Boardman Hall
emmanuel.ohemeng@maine.edu
Kurt Ongman
M.S. Student
Advisor: Amber Roth
Research Topic: Demographic and habitat characteristics of a sympatric population of Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers
kurt.ongman@maine.edu
Tolulope S. Oyikeke
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Joshua Stoll
Research Topic: Local and Regional seafood systems
Location: 227 Libby Hall
tolulope.oyikeke@maine.edu
Autumn Pozniak
M.S. Student
Advisor: Jessica Leahy
Research Topic: Workforce Development for Rural Youth in Resource-Dependent Places
Location: Nutting Hall 253
autumn.pozniak@maine.edu
Alex Scearce
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Rachel Schattman and Seanna Annis
Research Topic: Multitrophic interactions in wild blueberry cropping systems: Plant-fungal and plant-pollinator associations
Location: 200 Roger Clapp Greenhouse
alexandra.scearce@maine.edu
Meg Schierer
Ph.D. Student and OneHealth and the Environment NRT
Advisor: Dr. Allison Gardner and Dr. Sandra de Urioste-Stone
Research Topic: Social and ecological dynamics of mosquito-borne disease
Location: 304 Deering Hall
megan.schierer@maine.edu
Eliza Stein
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Amber Roth
Research Topic: Invasive shrub management for habitat resilience of Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers
Location: Nutting 232A eliza.stein1@maine.edu
Tegwin Taylor
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Pauline Kamath and Dr. Carly Sponarski
Research Topic: Echinococcus in Maine wildlife
Location: 216 Hitchner Hall
tegwin.taylor@maine.edu
Andrea Tirrell
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Jacquelyn Gill
Research Topic: New England alpine plant community response to climate change
Location: 127 Sawyer
andrea.tirrell@maine.edu
Ainsley Vanderhyde
M.S. Student
Advisor: Darren Ranco and Joshua Stoll
Research Topic: Dams and their effect on Indigenous communities
Location: Libby Hall
ainsley.vanderhyde@maine.edu
Leonardo Villacis
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Mirelle Le Gal and Dr. Jasmine Saros
leonardo.villacis@maine.edu
