Current research students
Caroline Richmond, BA Exercise Science, May 2028
Caroline began work in the lab in the spring of 2025 and is working as an undergraduate research assistant on the NSF EPSCoR funded project "eDNA metabarcoding-based profiling of microbial diversity and simultaneous fecal source tracking in urban lotic systems in the inner Bluegrass." Read more about her project on the NSF EPSCoR site here: 2025 CLIMBS Seed Funding: Ideas Into Impact – Kentucky NSF EPSCoR
Lauren Slone, BA Biology, May 2027
Lauren began work in the lab in the spring of 2024 and has worked on a number of projects, including her 2024 KY Academy of Science presentation, "Development of an eDNA assay for use in detection of four-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum): Significance of mitochondrial evolution rates in eDNA assay development." Lauren is also coauthor on a publication from the lab using eDNA to survey fish populations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, available here: GSMNP eDNA 2025.
Lauren has been accepted to and will attend medical school at the University of Kentucky.