Graduate Student Directory
Gladys Adu Asieduwaa
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Rachel Schattman & Jason Lilley
Research Topic: Covering Ground: Assessing Effectiveness of Interseeded Cover Crops in Late Season Vegetables to Enhance Soil Health and the Effects of Supplemental Fertilization and Irrigation on Annual Ryegrass in the Northeast.
Location: 108B Deering Hall
gladys.adu@maine.edu
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
Lizbeth (Liz) Amador
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Sydne Record
Research Topic: Scales of influence on plant phenological sensitivity to climate change and geodiversity; flowering onset forecasts
Location: Nutting Hall
lizbeth.amador@maine.edu
Kate Behrens
Ph.D. Student & Ecosystem Science NRT
Advisor: Dr. Tora Johnson and Dr. Jessica Jansujwicz
Research Topic: Social-ecological networks of the Maine lobster fishery
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
Eric Brown
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Danielle Levesque
Research Topic: A comparative investigation of sciurid energetics and thermoregulation
eric.brown1@maine.edu
Paula Castiblanco
M.S. Student
Advisor: Pauline Kamath
Research Topic: Respiratory viruses in moose and effects in behaviour
Location: Hitchner Hall
paula.castiblanco@maine.edu
Kahryn Cullenberg
M.S. Student
Advisor: Dr. Jessica Leahy and Dr. Rachel Schattman
kahryn.cullenberg@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
Sara Delaney
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Rachel Schattman
Research Topic: Farmer adaptation to climate change: understanding farmer learning, decision-making and social networks
Location: 206 Roger Clapp Greenhouse
sara.delaney@maine.ed
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
Jill Fedarick
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Christina Murphy and Sydne Record
Research Topic: Yellow Lampmussel Range-Wide Assessment and Conservation
Location: 101 Nutting Hall
jillian.fedarick@maine.edu
Melissa Flye
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Carly Sponarski and Joseph Zydlewski
Research Topic: Homeward bound: Returning Atlantic salmon to Maine rivers using aquaculture
Location: 244 Nutting Hall
Melissa.flye@maine.edu
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
Amanda Gavin
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Jasmine Saros
Research Topic: Integrated Arctic freshwater resource management
Location: Sawyer Environmental Sciences Center
amanda.gavin@maine.edu
Harrison Goldspiel
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Noah Charney
Research Topic: Conservation Capacity Building for Cryptic Ecological Communities: Expanding the Toolbox for Vernal Pools
Location: 202 Nutting Hall
harrison.goldspiel@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
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
Grayson Huston
Ph.D. Student (EES, SBE, Maine eDNA)
Advisor: Dr. Michael Kinnison & Dr. Jasmine Saros
Research Topic: Using sedimentary DNA to understand historic species distribution and community shifts in Maine lakes.
Location: 307 Murray Hall
Grayson.huston@maine.edu
Ben Johnson
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Philip Fanning
Research Topic: Reduced-risk management of the invasive Spotted Wing Drosophila in Maine’s wild blueberry agroecosystem.
Location: Deering 304
benjamin.crossman.johnson@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 101A
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
Matthew Kwofie
M.S. Student
Advisor: Professor Jonathan Rubin and Dr. Sampath Gunukula
Research Topic: Cost-Benefit Assessment and Policy Implications of Forest Biorefiney Commercialization in the Northeast United States.
Location: Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, Room 209
matthew.kwofie@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
Ella McDonald
M.S. Student
Advisor: John Daigle
Research Topic: Building landowner partnerships to protect brown ash from the emerald ash borer
Location: Nutting Hall
ella.mcdonald@maine.edu
Kayla McLagan
M.S. Student
Advisor: Kate Ruskin
Research Topic: STEM Education and Saltmarsh sparrows
Location: 304 Deering Hall
kayla.mclagan@maine.edu
Monica Miles
M.S. Student & OneHealth and the Environment NRT
Advisor: Dr. Pauline Kamath & Dr. Sandra de Urioste-Stone
Research Topic: Parasite ecology focused on understanding socio-ecological drivers and impacts of parasite infections (winter ticks) on moose (Alces alces)
monica.miles@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
Edwin Njuguna III
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Mireille Le Gal and Christina Murphy
edwin.njuguna@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
Sonora Ortiz
M.S. Student
Advisor: Ellen Mallory and Jean MacRae
Research Topic: PFAS uptake, fate, and transport in agricultural systems
Location: 108 Boardman Hall
sonora.ortiz@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
Keyana Pardilla
M.S. Student
Advisor: Sandra De Urioste-Stone and Allison Gardner
keyana.pardilla@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
Sarah Risley
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Heather Leslie
Research Topic: Estuarine Ecology
Location: Darling Marine Center
sarah.risley1@maine.edu
Kenzie Roeder
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Brian Olsen (UMaine) and Dr. Adrienne Kovach (UNH)
Research Topic: Linking genome, phenome, and performance in tidal marsh sparrow bill morphology
Mackenzie.Roeder@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
Amber Schultz
M.S. Student
Advisor: Dr. Caroline Noblet and Dr. Teresa Johnson
amber.schultz@maine.edu
Melissa Simon
M.S. Student
Advisor: Dr. Pauline Kamath
Research Topic: Avian influenza in Maine waterfowl
Location: Hitchner Hall
melissa.simon@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
Leonardo Villacis
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Mirelle Le Gal and Dr. Jasmine Saros
leonardo.villacis@maine.edu
Holly White
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Kate Ruskin
Research Topic: STEM education
Location: 304 Deering Hall
holly.white2@maine.edu
Ivy Yen
Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Dr. Alessio Mortelliti
Research Topic: Consequences of small mammal personality on seed dispersal, stress response, disease, and interspecific competition
Location: 202 Nutting Hall
ivy.yen@maine.edu