Research Fellow/Lab Manager
Melissa Ederington Hagy received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a M.S. in Marine Science from the University of Maryland College Park. Her graduate research at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory focused on the transfer of biomarkers in a marine food web. Upon graduation, she worked at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science where she was involved in research using biomarkers as indicators of organic matter in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Most recently she was a research associate at the University of West Florida where she participated in projects measuring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Melissa has extensive experience with a variety of analytical instruments such as Nutrient AutoAnalyzer, GC, GC/MS, and HPLC.
Postdoc
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Amanda Vieillard is a marine biogeochemist with over 10 years of experience working in marine and aquatic systems from Alaska to New Zealand. A Fulweiler Lab alum, she has a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science and a Master’s in Earth Science from BU, a Master’s in Oceanography from the University of Connecticut, and recently completed her PhD in Marine Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her dissertation research investigated the intersection of biogeochemistry and ecology in estuarine systems, and focused on the impacts of multiple anthropogenic stressors including terrestrial sediment loading as well as nutrient and microplastic pollution. In addition to research, Amanda is passionate about outreach, science communication, and making science more accessible to all. This time around Amanda will be joining the CoPE project funded by NSF looking at coastal blue carbon as well as the N-Fixation project in Narragansett Bay, she’s so pleased to be re-joining the Fulweiler Lab team!
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Graduate Students
Alia Al-Haj received a B.S. (2010) in Biology and M.S. (2014) in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia. Alia was the lab manager and lab technician in the Fulweiler Lab for three years before deciding to stay pursue her Ph.D. After spending time working on a range of lab projects from deep benthic fluxes to oyster nutrient cyclign she has combined her new found interest in biogeochemistry to her long interest in seagrasses. Her dissertation research is focused on quantifying blue carbon capabilities of seagrass meadows. She is particularly interested in fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane from eelgrass beds and how these fluxes change under excess nutrients. Alia's research is funded in part through the National Park Service's Nickerson Fellowship. She is the recipient of the Boston University Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship. And she is a participant in the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography LOREX program where is working with Dr. Damien Maher on quantifying methane emissions from Australian seagrasses.
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Nia Bartolucci graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College in 2017 with a BA in Environmental Studies and a concentration in ecosystem science. Since graduation she has worked as a lab technician and research assistant for the Bernhardt Lab at Duke University in Durham, NC and the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve on Prudence Island, RI. She is interested in studying how climate change and other anthropogenic impacts are affecting the biogeochemistry and ecosystem function of coastal wetlands, and she is beyond excited to join the Fulweiler lab as a Ph.D. student.
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Emily Chua graduated from Dalhousie University (Halifax, Nova Scotia) in 2015 where she obtained her B.Sc. Combined Honours in Physics and Oceanography. Throughout her undergraduate degree she pursued a variety of research interests, including a DAAD Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) Scholarship at the University of Konstanz, Germany where she investigated charge transport in hybrid solar cells. In 2014, she was a Summer Student Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in the Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering department. Her WHOI project involved developing a membrane inlet system to be integrated with an underwater mass spectrometer (UMS) for biogeochemical measurements in the deep sea. This summer research piqued her interest in the area of applied ocean science and underwater instrumentation. Her dissertation research is focused on developing and deploying underwater mass spectrometery to quantify biogeochemical fluxes in permeable sediments. Emily is funded through Fulbright, NSERC, and NSF.
Alex Geisser received her B.S in Marine Science with a minor in Environmental Science from the University of New England in 2020. Throughout her undergraduate degree, she conducted research on the bioremediation potential of kelp in the Gulf of Maine. Since graduation, she has been a field technician for Rhode Island Marine Fisheries. Alex’s passion for studying anthropogenic impacts on the ocean led her to the discipline of biogeochemistry and the Fulweiler lab. Her dissertation research will focus on the roles of macroalgae, environmental characteristics, and climate change in altering the abundance of pathogenic Vibrio sp. in coastal ecosystems. When not in the lab, you can usually find Alex underwater scuba diving, or on the top of a mountain hiking.
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Claudia Mazur graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2016 with a B.A. in Geology and a minor in Coastal and Marine Sciences. As a Ph.D. student in the Fulweiler Lab, Claudia is focused on improving our understanding and forecasting of coastal water quality. She is studying how changes in water column oxygen and pH, largely due to eutrophication and warming temperatures, might alter nutrient cycling pathways in coastal systems. She is also interested in understanding the environmental conditions that drive nitrogen cycling and removal in coastal sediments.
Outside the lab, Claudia is dedicated to supporting and promoting the visibility of diverse graduate students as co-founder of the Boston University Chapter of the Society of Women in Marine Science and as the Student Representative for the New England Estuarine Research Society. You can learn more about Claudia’s adventures by checking out her website: www.claudiaimazur.weebly.com and following her on twitter @cmazur_rocks. |
Undergraduate Interns
Tyler Chidsey is a third year undergraduate, pursuing a B.A in Marine Science and a minor in Biology. Growing up in a small seaside town in Massachusetts, the ocean played a huge role in formulating his environmental interests from a young age. He has particular interests in nitrogen cycling in coastal ecosystems, especially mangroves and seagrasses. His current work with Alia Al-Haj follows the nitrous oxide greenhouse gas emissions related to seagrass meadows in New England. He hopes to continue post-secondary work exploring biogeochemistry, evolutionary ecology, and conservation.
Shraddha Pingali is a freshman at Boston University studying Environmental Analysis and Policy and Marine Science. She grew up in both Seattle, Washington, and Columbus, Ohio, and is excited to learn more about marine science in Boston. Her previous work includes doing field studies for oceanography in Hawaii, the Bahamas, and Belize. She hopes to be able to apply what she learns in the lab to her studies in environmental policy. Currently she is working with Nick on the impact of oysters on coastal ecosystems.
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Halle Cooper is a sophomore at Boston University, majoring in Earth and Environment and minoring in Marine Science. She is from Philadelphia, but spent much of her childhood in Truro, Massachusetts, making her especially interested sustainable aquaculture. She also spent three months helping with a coral reef restoration project in Madagascar, which gave her a particular fascination for sessile and benthic organisms, especially nudibranchs.
Remi Work is a sophomore studying Earth and Environmental Science in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is from South Florida, where environmental education played a role in her childhood and sparked her interest in the field. At BU, she is the President of FeelGood, a nonprofit organization that raises money to alleviate extreme poverty worldwide as well as a member of Alpha Chi Sigma Professional Chemistry Fraternity. She hopes to pursue a career in conservation and live a life dedicated to leaving a positive impact on this planet.
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