Current Graduate Students

Current Biology Graduate Students

Graduate Student:
Ambrose, Georgia K.

Major Professor: 
Dr. Rose

Project Rationale and Description:

I am originally from Canton, GA and received my B.A. in Biology with minors in Enviromental Science and Marine Biology from The University of Tampa. For my masters thesis I will be continuing my research on interspecies interactions using baited remote underwater videos (BRUV) in Tampa Bay that I began as undergraduate. I will also be conducting an IUCN Red List Assessments to analyze population status, habitat, geographic range, threats, and conversation actions for syngnathid species, seahorses and pipefishes, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Graduate Student:
Asiedu, Emmanuel

Major Professor: 
Dr. Cantonwine

Project Rationale and Description

Here.

Graduate Student:
Ashraf, Ali J.

Major Professor: 
Dr. Phillips

Project Rationale and Description:

My name is Ali Ashraf and I’m a grad student in the Phillips lab. I’m originally from Fremont, California in the southeast San Francisco Bay Area. I got my undergraduate degree in Portland, Oregon at Reed College where I wrote my senior thesis studying asexual reproduction in Columbian monkshood. Now I’m here at VSU where I’m working on my master’s degree, studying phylogeography in herpetofauna. When I’m not on campus I spend my time designing rockets in Kerbal Space Program, photographing the local wildlife and posting my pictures to iNaturalist, and enjoying the warm Georgia weather.

Graduate Student:
Baidoo, Maame Esi

Major Professor: 
Dr. Kang

Project Rationale and Description:

I got my undergraduate degree in Ghana, where I am originally from, in Agricultural Biotechnology. I realized being able to extract meaningful knowledge from research data and building solutions around them for other researchers is the path I want to take and so I enrolled in a data science training program. In my current master’s thesis, I will be using R to determine the enthalpy-entropy compensation in starch gelatinization. This will establish a relationship between enthalpy and entropy changes, regardless of the source of starch using data collected from a series of research papers on starch gelatinization.

Graduate Student:
Cornely, Beraca G.

Major Professor:
Dr. Erin E. Grabarczyk

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.

Graduate Student:
Effi, Gideon

Major Professor: 
Dr. Cantonwine

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.

Graduate Student:
Harris, Jakob R.

Major Professor: 
Dr. Lokdarshi

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.

Graduate Student:
Hill-Sims, Megan N.

Major Professor: 
Dr. Rose

Project Rationale and Description:

My name’s Megan and I’m originally from Dallas, TX. I obtained my marine biology bachelor’s degree and environmental science minor from The University of Tampa in Tampa, FL. There, I studied dwarf seahorses and the Chytrid fungus in Cuban and Pinewoods tree frogs. I worked in the aquarium industry before starting my graduate degree here at VSU. My thesis work is studying Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli) movement patterns and population dynamics within a seagrass bed in Tampa Bay, FL. I aim to utilize mark-recapture techniques to test new coastal field collection methods and identify if the Gulf pipefish exhibit site fidelity within their habitat. I’m also studying this population across a year to identify seasonal shifts within their demographics and morphometrics. My future goals strive to blend research and conservation within our coastal ecosystems.

Graduate Student:
Kwawuvi, Daniel

Major Professor: 
Dr. Nienow

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.

Graduate Student:
Lambing, Stewart J.

Major Professor: 
Dr. Lockhart

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.

Graduate Student:
Mohanty, Jack A

Major Professor: 
Dr. Chambers

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.

Graduate Student:
Myers, Emily B.

Major Professor: 
Dr. Grabarczyk

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.

Graduate Student:
Patel, Darshi

Major Professor: 
Dr. Rose

Project Rationale and Description:

My research focuses on the quantifying the impacts of eutrophication on the Mating behaviors, Mating success, Mate choice, and Reproductive success of dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae). Population of seahorses is collected from Tampa Bay, Florida where wide range of turbidity is recorded year wide, and hence this study will be crucial to document if this population is threatened or benefited by the presence of turbidity in the waters. I also aim to further investigate this genetically monogamous mating system to study the mate choice if it remains same over sequential pregnancies and the extent of the pair-bonding in laboratory settings.

Graduate Student:
Rincon Diaz, Daniel F.

Major Professor: 
Dr. Lokdarshi

Project Rationale and Description:

My research focuses on the regulation of protein synthesis (translational control) in plants under diverse stresses such as cold, high light, herbicides. Specifically, I use Arabidopsis thaliana as a plant model organism to investigate the role of a highly conserved eukaryotic translational control protein-substrate partner, GCN2-eIF2 in mediating responses towards numerous stresses. Understanding the function of Arabidopsis GCN2-eIF2 module is essential for supporting plant biotechnology programs that rely on the availability of new targets for improving plant germplasm.

Graduate Student:
Sanchez, Dalila

Major Professor: 
Dr. Rose

Project Rationale and Description:

Here.