Graduate Program in Marine Biology at Grice Marine Lab

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Cole Miller for defending his masters thesis entitled "Quantifying trophic interactions of freshwater communities under the effects of freshwater salinization". Cole’s research looked at quantifying trophic interactions and anuran survival under salinizing stress. He assessed algal, zooplankton and green tree frog tadpoles to see how they respond to osmotic stress, and tried to stitch together a comprehensive picture of how food webs and community structures would alter. As freshwater salinization is becoming increasingly relevant with sea level rise, increased storm activity and other factors that keep putting the ocean in places it is not supposed to be. There is also a conservation aspect to it, as we can see how osmotic stress could be mitigated on organisms of interest.

🐸 Cole got into marine biology when he did a “try SCUBA” class at age 12 with his boy scout troop. They stayed still in 5 feet of water for like 20 minutes, but it was so fun even while doing nothing that he wanted to do it as a job.

🐸 Outside of research, Cole loves trivia nights with friends, games of all kinds, fossil hunting, and just about anything involving the water!

🐸 After graduating, Cole will be getting his PhD at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in fisheries science. He will be expanding on his quantitative skills to work in fisheries stock assessments and other management practices.

🐸 Cole, we are so proud of you! We know you will do amazing things in the future! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Madeline Adams for defending her masters thesis entitled "Temporal Analysis of Total Mercury Levels in Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) and Black-Footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) Eggs from Midway Atoll". Madeline’s research used abandoned eggs collected by the Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Project from two sympatric albatross species (Phoebastria immutabilis and Phoebastria nigripes) on Midway Atoll to look for species-specific differences in mercury load, how consistent the levels were over time, and supported the use of mercury as a chemo marker for species identification. These birds have long life spans and travel vast distances, so their mercury levels give us insight into how much mercury might be bioavailable in the North Pacific Ocean Basin. Developing a chemo marker could lead to more efficient species identification in the field, which could help us understand egg abandonment dynamics more clearly.

🥚Madeline loved that her project was so interdisciplinary. Her project involved ecology, oceanography, chemistry, and biology.

🥚When Madeline is not working, she loves to run, swim, read, and craft.

🥚After graduating, Madeline hopes to continue working in environmental toxicology, and eventually maybe create educational programs for kids to share how cool the Earth is..

🥚Madeline, we are so proud of you! We are excited to see what your future holds! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Olivia (Livvie) Cohn for defending her masters thesis entitled "Co-contaminant interactions between microplastics and Louisiana Sweet crude oil on oxidative stress in juvenile hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria)". Livvie’s research focused on interactions between two notable pollutants, microplastics and crude oil, and how these interactions influenced both lethal and sublethal effects on juvenile hard clams. She looked at mortality for 3 different microplastic types when co-exposed with crude oil as well as relative gene expression for genes involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification pathways. This research provided a more accurate depiction of environmental conditions during pollution events like oil spills (as microplastics are ubiquitous) as well as established a new method for measuring the sublethal endpoint of oxidative stress in clams that requires less tissue than traditional methodology.

🐚 Livvie became interested in marine biology because she grew up in and around the water and wanted to find a way to be as close to it as possible.

🐚 Outside of research, Livvie loves swimming, baking, crocheting, and hanging out with friends.

🐚 After graduation, Livvie is moving back to her hometown and looking at getting a job in a lab nearby.

🐚 Livvie, we are so proud of you! We are looking forward to what your future holds! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Rachel Catoni for defending her masters thesis entitled "Gene Expression Dynamics During Embryonic, Larval, and Post-Settlement Development in the Mesophotic Octocoral Swiftia exserta". Rachels’s research provides a baseline understanding of gene expression across Swiftia exserta development. She characterized temporal patterns of gene expression as well as identified genes expressed at distinct developmental stages. Her research helps broaden our understanding of Swiftia exserta and provides transcriptomic data that can be analyzed for years to come. Additionally, the findings of this study contribute towards identifying the ideal stage(s) of development of S. exserta for future coral restoration and out planting efforts in the Gulf of America, particularly in areas where populations were heavily impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

🪸 Rachel’s passion for marine biology developed on a volunteer trip to Biscayne National Park during her time as an undergraduate. She quickly switched her major to biology and hasn’t looked back since. As an undergraduate, she also developed a strong interest in molecular biology, making her masters project the perfect opportunity.

🪸 Outside of research, Rachel enjoys baking, doing puzzles, spending time with friends and family, and outside activities such as hiking, camping and going to the beach.

🪸 After graduating, Rachel plans on working to get her thesis published in a scientific journal and taking some time to travel and spend time with friends and family.

🪸 Rachel, we are so proud of you! We are excited to see what your future holds! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Alex Larson for defending her masters thesis entitled "From Tire to Toxic? Assessing Lethal and Developmental Effects of Tire Wear Chemicals on Sheepshead Minnow and Spotted Seatrout". Alex’s research evaluated how tire wear particles and their released chemicals (6PPD and 6PPD-quinone) affect sensitive early life stages of estuarine fish. This research helps improve the understanding of their ecological risk and provides information that can support environmental monitoring, inform regulatory agencies, and support management efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of pollutants.

🐟 Alex always been interested in marine biology and knew that she wanted to work with marine organisms and be near the water. Her passion for aquatic toxicology began when she learned about the impacts of microplastics in the environment, and she is really grateful to have been able to complete a project in this area of study!

🐟 Outside of research, Alex enjoys spending time with friends, trying out new coffee shops and restaurants, going to the beach (attempting to surf), and traveling.

🐟 After graduating, Alex hopes to begin her career in environmental consulting and apply her background in aquatic toxicology. She is extremely interested in work that focuses on pollution prevention and mitigation. Long term, she hopes to work in a sustainability focused role and be a part of projects that help protect the environment.

🐟 Alex, we are so proud of you! We can’t wait to see what your future holds! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Zoe Golden for defending her masters thesis entitled "Assessing the Influence of Microhabitats on Estuarine Fish Species in the ACE Basin, SC Using Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) Technology and Machine Learning". Zoe’s research addresses the time and labor constraints of traditional estuarine habitat monitoring by developing automated classification methods using UAS imagery and deep learning. This approach enables efficient, accurate, and repeatable habitat monitoring across multiple estuarine systems to support adaptive management under changing coastal conditions.

🐟 Zoe’s passion for marine biology started from a childhood tradition with her mom where they would visit the aquarium every week together.

🐟 Outside of research, Zoe enjoys going to the beach, reading, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her friends and puppy!

🐟 After finishing the GPMB program, Zoe plans to stay in Charleston and continue working in the field of fisheries science!

🐟 Zoe, we are so proud of you! We are excited to see what your future brings! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Alec Heilman for defending his masters thesis entitled "Benthic modeling to support coral propagation and restoration". Alec’s research examined the environmental drivers that favor higher densities of two mesophotic coral species that are integral to the Deepwater Horizon restoration efforts. Understanding the environmental factors that positively influence these corals’ densities helps increase the success rate of translocation initiatives that are occurring, which will in turn enhance the biodiversity of the ecosystems and return them back to pre-spill caliber.

🪸 Alec’s favorite part of his project was being able to participate in the research expeditions, where he was able to see the data collection firsthand and identify a new reef complex not yet explored.

🪸 Outside of research, Alec is training for an Ironman triathlon and also loves to read, try all the restaurants that Charleston has to offer, and watch Love Island UK.

🪸 After graduating, Alec plans on pursuing his MBA from the Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business, where he’ll be focusing on energy finance and cleantech.

🪸 Alec, we are so proud of you! We are looking forward to seeing what your future brings! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Jessica Trayhan for defending her masters thesis entitled "Assessing seasonal trends, detection patterns, and co-detection of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae, cetacean herpesvirus, and Brucella ceti in stranded bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops erebennus) lung tissues". Jessica’s research determined whether CeHV and/or Pdd were present in this stranded dolphin population, evaluated any seasonal or host-associated patterns, and assessed their co-detection with Brucella ceti. The research on these pathogens has implications for emerging and infectious disease research, zoonotic disease risk, stock management, conservation, and One Health.

🐬 Jessica’s passion for marine biology started in undergrad where she was involved in environmental and aquatic microbiology research and realized working in a marine setting was where she wanted to be.

🐬 Outside of research, Jessica loves spending time with friends, reading, going on walks, traveling, and finding new coffee shops to try.

🐬 After finishing the GPMB program, Jessica will be working as a Research Specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina.

🐬 Jessica, we are very proud of you! We can’t wait to see what your future brings! Congrats!

Charleston’s Graduate School College of Charleston

New moms near Grice! 🪺

2 Great Blue Herons have made their nests in a tree outside GML and SCDNR. No babies have been spotted yet (4/21/26)!

Maternity photos taken by