IGERT Fellows
Samuel A. Bader - sbader@hawaii.edu
Sam’s research interests involve birds including their interactions with parasites, pathogens, invasive species, and environmental change. He received his B.S. in Environmental Studies from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma and is working with the Zoology Department’s Dr. Leonard Freed.
Siobhán Burns - siobhanb@hawaii.edu
Siobhán is interested in the interplay between marine biology, public health and environmental protection. She earned an MPA in Environmental Science & Policy at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs. After getting her BS degree she worked for the Whatcom County Health Department as an Environmental Health Specialist. As an epidemiologist in the Communicable Disease Division she investigated enteric and zoonotic diseases. Siobhán also worked as an emergency response coordinator for the Health Department. Through IGERT Siobhan will study the use of endemic shellfish as biological indicators of potential pathogens in the marine environment. Elucidating the relationships between sewage and agricultural runoff with the hazards of nutrient loading and coral reef stress in sensitive coastal habitats in Hawaii and other Asia-Pacific areas will become ever pressing as climate change ensues.
Angela Iannidinardo Fa’anunu - fanifo@gmail.com
Originally from the Kingdom of Tonga, Angela earned a B.A. in Biology from Middlebury College and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She is in Urban & Regional Planning with interests in environmental planning and resource management particularly in the coastal zone; community-based marine protected area management in the Pacific Islands; and the impacts of globalization and urbanization on public health and the environment in the Pacific Islands. Her other interests include surfing, Hawaiian-style outrigger canoe paddling, swimming; free diving, SCUBA, and anything outside.
Amy Henry - amyhenry@hawaii.edu
After graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a B.A. in biology Amy worked for two years at a biotechnology company before returning to academia. She then earned a M.S. in Microbiology at the University of Hawaii and currently works for Dr. Shannon Bennett on the evolutionary ecology of infectious diseases specifically the microdynaimcs and epidemiology of dengue fever in Thailand’s Chachoengsao Province. Amy appreciates the chance to be part of a new generation of scientists promoting communication and sharing ideas across disciplines.
Holly Jessop - hollyjessop@yahoo.com
During previous lives Holly was a technical writer, computer programmer, and an astrophysicist. In summer 2008 she completed a transition into the life sciences, with a master’s degree in tropical conservation biology at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo. Her research thesis involved a study of the morphology and genetics of the diadematid Echinothrix sea urchins of Hawai’i. She is now a PhD student in the Zoology Department at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, with interests in marine biodiversity, speciation, epizootiology, and the evolutionary effects of anthropogenic stressors upon marine life.
John Kittinger - john.kittinger@hawaii.edu, jkittinger@gmail.com
A native of the coastal Carolinas, John grew up surfing, fishing and exploring the waters of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. His past research includes investigation of hydro-dynamic mediation of predator-prey interactions, and an ecological assessment of zooplankton community response to environmental variables in an urban, altered estuary. John’s doctoral research interests are in the overlapping fields of marine conservation policy, ocean governance, and human dimensions of environmental impacts on marine ecosystems. Specifically, he is investigating the institutional responses to conservation of marine resources in near-shore marine ecosystems in the Pacific region.
Kira Krend - krend@hawaii.edu
With a B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in EPO (Environmental, Population, Organismic) Biology, double major with Anthropology, Kira is working with Dr. Lenny Freed in the Department of Zoology. Her research interests use avian malaria in native and introduced hosts to study the ecology of vector-borne disease and evolution of disease resistance.
Sean MacDuff - macduff@hawaii.edu
Sean earned a BS in marine biology at UH Manoa and is currently a Zoology PhD student in Dr. Bob Richmond’s lab workng on the interactions between coral reefs and adjacent watersheds. He plans to investigate how coral reef assemblages change across gradients of land-based sources of pollution and how certain pollutants affect coral larval settlement and survival. Understanding the effects of land-based sources of pollution on corals is important in developing integrative land and sea management strategies to maintain coral reef health. Sean is from Saipan, largest island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Island, and intimately appreciates the importance of preserving and protecting coral reefs.
Brandi Mueller - muellerb@hawaii.edu
Brandi has a Master’s degree in Biomedical research from the University of Hawaii’s Department of Tropical Medicine studying dengue virus evolution. Her primary interests include environmental and evolutionary ecology of pathogens and how climate change will affect pathogens and the human diseases they cause, primarily in Southeast Asia. She did her undergraduate studies at The University of Tampa studying the botanical diversity of Abaco National Park in the Bahamas; as well as seahorse behavioral studies; and the health of Halodule wrightii seagrass in Florida. Brandi is a SCUBA instructor with a USCG captain’s license and enjoys being outdoors and traveling.
Michael Norris - mhnorris@hawaii.edu
Michael studies focus on Burckholderia pseudomallei, a potential bioterrorism agent and the causative agent for meliodosis also known as Whitmore’s disease. He will study the geographic extent of B. pseudomallei in Hawaii and in Thailand. Michael earned his BS at the University of Texas at Austin. During his undergraduate studies he also worked as a volunteer microbiologist at a microbrewery.
Rodolf Pan - rodolf@hawaii.edu
From a B.B.A. in Accounting from The College of William and Mary, and a career as an information technology consultant, Rodolf has entered the UH Zoology program. He is interested in invasive species, particularly the epifaunal community that inhabits one of Hawaii’s five invasive algae, Gracilaria salicornia. Rodolf’s research will explore the possibility of invasional synergisms occurring within the epifaunal community, leading to a possible ‘invasional meltdown.’
Kaipo Perez - kaipop@hawaii.edu
The ocean has never been far from Kaipo’s life. His passion for this field stems from the strong cultural ties that his family shares with ocean. Kaipo grew up in an ‘ohana lawaiʹa (fishing family) and spent time exploring the tidal pools at Makapu’u beach. He currently works in the coral reef ecology lab under Drs Paul Jokiel and Ku’ulei Rodgers at the Hawai’i Institue of Marine Biology (HIMB), Kāne’ohe, Hawai’i. It is here that he has been able to work on research concerning the coral reef ecosystem. In graduate school, Kaipo plans to examine the anthropogenic factors – such as sedimentation, eutrophication and pollutants – as stressors on coral reefs. He also hopes to encourage Hawaiian students to take an active role in protecting their island ecosystem.
Rebecca Prescott - rebeccap@hawaii.edu
Originally from Tucson, Rebecca attended the University of Arizona where completed her B.S. in Ecology and her M.S. in Natural Resources. Her research interests are the study of interactions between urban centers, watersheds, and coral reef environments, and how different management regimes of these connected systems affects coral settlement and biodiversity of reefs. Hawaii, and other Pacific islands, provide excellent examples of land/sea/people systems to study, as watersheds are confined and short in length, waterways often empty into bays with high coral cover, coral reefs support local economies, and various levels of urbanization exist along watersheds and coastal zones.
Luc Rougee - rougee@hawaii.edu
Luc hails from The Johns Hopkins University where he earned his undergraduate and masters degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology. His first taste for marine biology research came in working for Dr. Ostrander creating a laboratory methodology mimicking stresses corals receive from crude oil spills. His childhood hobby for marine biology and experience with marine research led him to apply and come to Hawaii to learn, surf and get a tan and get a PhD in Zoology. Works in progress involve establishing a permaculture of coral cells, studying the effects of environmental contaminants on coral growth, reproduction and survival, and. applying pharmacological practices in studying expression and activity of several xenobiotic metabolising enzymes in Pocillopora damiornis coral.
Jennifer Schultz - jschultz@hawaii.edu
With a B.S. from the College of Charleston, Jennifer is studying the evolution of animal behavior and the conservation of marine species (Hawaiian monk seals, lemon sharks, and pygmy angelfish) and ecosystems. Awarded her PhD on the “Conservation genetics of the Hawaiian monk seal” Jenny found through DNA analysis that the Hawaiian monk seal has the lowest genetic diversity of any mammal ever studied. Jenny will continue her work as an Assistant Researcher with the UH’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.
Mark Speck - speck@hawaii.edu
Originally from the New Jersey shore, Mark grew up sailing and exploring Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Rutgers University where he continued on as a laboratory technician working in microbial ecology laboratories. That work spanned diverse environments ranging from coastal estuaries to deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems. Mark earned his masters in Microbiology at the University of Hawaii and now is exploring the microbial communities associated with Pocillopora coral mucus for his dissertation work. An accomplished runner, Mark has completed several Ironman Triatholons.
Mayee Wong - mayee@hawaii.edu
From a Bachelor of Science from the University of California at San Diego, to a M.S. in Biology from Kansas State University, and employment at the USDA-Beltsville and the University of Idaho along the way, Mayee is currently pursuing a PhD in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology under the direction of Dr. Bruce Wilcox. Her research involves investigations in a local watershed on the ecology of leptospirosis, a tropical infectious zoonotic disease that is endemic amongst small mammals in Hawaii.