Lab Members: Dr. Hal Halvorson (he/him) - Assistant Professor Hal earned a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry at St. Olaf College in 2011 and his Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Arkansas with Dr. Michelle Evans-White in 2016. He spent 3 years as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Kevin Kuehn at the University of Southern Mississippi before coming to UCA in Fall 2019. In his free time, Hal loves to game, listen to contemporary rock music, and explore outside.
Dr. Felicia Osburn (she/her) - Postdoctoral Associate Felicia earned her Ph.D. in Biology in 2021 from Baylor University in Dr. Thad Scott's laboratory. She has expertise in harmful algal bloom ecology, especially relationships between water quality and cyanotoxin production. Felicia is continuing this research on our Brewer Lake monitoring program as well as teaching courses like Freshwater Ecology and Ecology at UCA as part of the STOICH EPSCoR project.
Molly Wozniak (she/her) - M.S. student Molly joins us from Lake Superior State University, where she earned a B.S. in Fisheries Wildlife Management in 2020. She conducted undergraduate research on Didymo blooms in oligotrophic streams. She will be working on the field monitoring project in Arkansas Gulf Coastal Plains streams, in collaboration with the Adams Lab at UCA and the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality!
Anthony Pignatelli (he/him) - M.S. student Anthony joined the lab in June 2021 from his undergraduate experience in Biology at Kent State University. At Kent, he studied cotton strip decomposition in urban streams of Atlanta. At UCA, he will be working on the NSF EPSCoR STOICH project, with plans to bridge his interests in GIS and ecological stoichiometry to study urban streams of central Arkansas (and beyond!?)
Lydia Bradshaw (sher/her) - M.S. student Lydia joined the lab in August 2021 after finishing her Environmental Science (Biology track) degree at UCA. She is studying nutrient dynamics in Brewer Lake, the drinking water reservoir for Conway. Lydia has particular interests in external nutrient inputs into the lake and using GIS/remote sensing to analyze watershed effects on water quality.
Other current affiliates: Ethan Nettleton - M.S Student @ Southern Miss Ethan is continuing his undergraduate research project as his M.S. Thesis in Kevin Kuehn's lab at Southern Miss. His project investigates the effects of light on wood decomposition in lake littoral settings. Ethan hopes to attend medical school after he finishes his degree.
Saysha Sebren - Ph.D. Student @ Southern Miss Saysha began her Ph.D. in 2019 in Dr. Kevin Kuehn's lab at Southern Miss. Based on both past and future experiments, her project will use modern bioinformatics and 'omics' tools to study the interplay between microbial community dynamics and leaf decomposition under contrasting light regimes.
Current undergraduate students in the lab: Aidan Patton Emily Walsh Tanner Collins Madison Allen Rachel Wilcox Tyler Grandjean
Past undergraduate lab members: Noah Davis (2021-2022) Celeste Johnson (2021-2022) Aimee Dycus (2021) Peyton Cook (2021) Colton Dillon (2021) Rebeka Bradford (graduated spring 2022) Brandy Everett (graduated spring 2022) Skye Embray (UArk EcoREU summer 2021) Hunter Strom (graduated spring 2021) Brittany Krug (graduated spring 2021) Connor Tolly (graduated spring 2022)
Lab alumni: Tori Hebert (UCA) - current Ph.D. student with Dr. Jon Benstead @ University of Alabama Cody Pope (USM) - current M.S. student @ University of Florida Taylor Price, M.S. (USM) - current Ph.D. candidate with Dr. Trinity Hamilton @ University of Minnesota Cheyenne Brady, M.S. - Lab Technician in Hattiesburg, MS