Dr. T. eRIN COX
Erin is the principle investigator of the Coastal Benthic Ecology Lab and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at UNO. She received her Masters from California State University, Fullerton and a PhD from the Department of Botany and Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Program at the University of Hawaii. Erin did her post-doctoral study at the Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, France where she was an integral part of an international project called eFOCE: European Free Ocean Carbon Dioxide Enrichment. She also did a post-doctoral study at Dauphin Island Sea Lab (Alabama). Her past studies and interests are varied and include examinations of kelp forest herbivory, ecology on rocky shores, production on artificial reefs, and ocean acidification on seagrass beds in Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Lastly, she has been active in outreach as a leader and now advisor to a secondary school led monitoring program call OPIHI: Our Project in Hawaii’s Intertidal.
Dr. ESRA ozturk-YIGIT
Esra is working in the Coastal Benthic Ecology Lab until June 2020. She graduated from Ege University in Turkey where she studied biology. In 2017, she received her Ph.D. also from Ege University in Hydrobiology. She studied genetic modification and protein interaction on micro algae. During her year in the USA, Esra will be working on gene and protein expression on alga and seagrasses.
Contact Info:
eozturky@uno.edu
anastasia Konefal
Anastasia is Ph.D. student in the biology department at the University of New Orleans. She received at B.A. in Environmental Science and Policy with a minor in Biology in 2017 from Smith College in Massachusetts. Since graduating Anastasia has worked in environmental education and as an Aquatic Ecology Intern for the Cape Cod National Seashore where she ran the Kettle Ponds Water Quality Monitoring Project. Her research interests include the resiliency of seagrasses and how they will be impacted by climate change. Contact Info: amkonefa@uno.edu |
AMANDA KIRKLAND
Amanda is currently a Ph.D. student in the biology department. She received a B.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison in conservation biology as well as a minor in environmental studies in spring of 2016. Since graduating, she has mainly been studying the effects of ocean acidification on coral persistence. She will be pursuing research on artificial reefs off the coast of Alabama.
Contact Info:
amkirkla@uno.edu
Scarlet Zelaya
Scarlett is a senior at the University of New Orleans who started in CBEL Lab Spring of 2020. She loves anything marine, but is particularly interested in how plastic pollution is affecting ocean life. For the lab, she will be investigating the impacts that epiphytes may have on the physiology of submerged aquatic vegetation. After graduating from UNO, she plans on pursuing a Masters degree.
Ian santiago
Ian is a sophomore at the University of New Orleans and just joined the lab this semester. Being born and raised in Puerto Rico, he has always had a connection and interest to marine ecology. He was a volunteer in the Lailvaux lab, before joining our lab. He will be studying different aspects of mangrove ecology and the surrounding water biochemistry.
jacqui moran
Jacqui is currently an undergrad student at the University of New Orleans in the Biology Department. She will be receiving her B.A in Biology with a minor in chemistry in December 2020. She started working in the Coastal Benthic Ecology Lab this semester. Her research interests include gene expression on different viruses and infections within the DNA and RNA sequence of seagrasses. She will be applying for her Master’s degree in biology at University of New Orleans for the one-year Non-Thesis program. After graduation, she would like to work in a research or medical lab and then apply to medical school.
Lab Alumni
paula dinh
Paula graduated from the University of New Orleans with a degree in Biology in December 2019. She started working in the Benthic Ecology Lab, Fall of 2019. Her research interests include identifying water mold in the Gulf of Mexico and how that could potentially impact seagrass beds. When she isn't working on her own research in the lab, Paula is assisting with other grad students and keeps the lab organized and running smoothly. She is now attending graduate school to become a physical therapist.
