Teaching
Instructor of Record
Big Questions in Biology: How might Earth’s systems resolve the climate question? (Fall 2024 - University of Notre Dame)
Taught a lecture course for 143 students (70+ each half semester module) geared toward first year biology students. The module I taught, “Hero or Villain: How Might Earth’s Ecosystems Resolve the Climate Question?”, focused on the impacts of climate change on resources on which humans are dependent.
The Climate Crisis: Intersection between Biology and Christianity (Spring 2024 - University of Notre Dame)
Assisted with coordinating a 56 student lecture about how science and religion intersect in their analyses of climate change with focus on two questions: 1. How has climate change over the past 30 years impacted biological organisms and ecosystems? and 2. How ought Catholics respond to climate change, and how does such a response inform your own response?
IntroBio Lab II (Spring 2021 - University of Notre Dame)
Taught a lab of 30 students about the effects of global climate change on salt marshes. The students used a three tiered approach to their independent projects: predictive modeling, greenhouse experiments, and population genetics and community dynamics.
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Aquatic Insects (Fall 2023 - University of Notre Dame)
Taught a lab of 5 students about the ecological role of aquatic insects and aiding in hands on skills labs in which students learn to use dichotomous keys to identify aquatic invertebrates.
Arthropods and Human Disease (Spring 2023 - University of Notre Dame)
Taught a lab of 10 students about the intersection of human diseases and invertebrate communities. Helping with in lab preparation and assisting students with taxa identification.
General Ecology Lab (Fall 2020 - University of Notre Dame)
Taught a lab of 12 students about ecology, including making observations and using them to design and carry out field experiments. Topics of focus include forest structure, decomposition, and succession.
IntroBio Lab I (Fall 2019 - University of Notre Dame)
Taught a lab of 32 students about terrestrial insect diversity, DNA barcoding, GFP protein expression, and modeling cardio activity in R Studio.
Teaching OUtside of the Classroom
Stable Isotope Analysis (April 2024)
Taught a 1-hour lesson geared toward undergraduates, graduate students, and professors about R packages available to analyze stable isotope data in freshwater ecology, including interpretation and application of results
Mentoring
Research
Stream and Wetland Ecology Lab at the University of Notre Dame
Natalie Cox (Undergraduate Student Fall 2024)
Assisted with preparation and processing of stable isotope samples from the Copper River Delta of Alaska
Gracie Speicher (Undergraduate Student 2023 – Present)
Processing samples for stable isotope analyses during 2024-2025 school year
Developed an independent project looking at the impacts of Elodea on food web structure through time using samples from 2007 to 2023
Conducted data analysis for isotope data from the Copper River Delta for a companion of ponds with and without invasive Elodea
Assisted with preparation and processing of stable isotope samples from the Copper River Delta of Alaska
Jace Kruer (Undergraduate Student 2023 - 2024)
Assisting with preparation and processing of stable isotope samples from the Copper River Delta of Alaska
Josh von Werder (Undergraduate Student 2023 - 2024)
Stable isotope analysis for another lab member’s PFAS in food web project
Working on stable isotope mixing models and determining discrimination factors for their analyses
Determining the best approach for data analysis, including choosing methods and implementing models in R Programming
Corbin Hite (Undergraduate Student 2023 - 2024)
Preparing a manuscript covering his senior honor’s thesis research for peer-review
Presented an oral presentation for the College of Science – Joint Annual Meeting (COS-JAM) in 2024 and for the Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in 2024
Submitted his senior honor’s thesis on his independent study
Conducted an independent study on the Elodea invasion using limnocorrals in the Copper River Delta near Cordova, Alaska
Assisted with data workup for an herbicide study on Elodea in the Copper River Delta near Cordova, Alaska
Assisted with preparation and processing of stable isotope samples from the Copper River Delta of Alaska
Won “Best Oral/Poster Presentation Competition” for the College of Science - Joint Annual Meeting (COS-JAM) 2023
Ben McCarthy (Undergraduate Student Spring 2023)
Assessed alpha and gamma diversity metrics for invertebrate taxa in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands from a 10-year sampling period
Jones Aquatic Ecology Lab at the University of Notre Dame
Jack Boyle (Undergraduate Student 2020 - 2022)
Assisted with Long Lake fish diet data quality control and workup for 2019, 2020, and 2021
Applied for and received the College of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to conduct an independent mentored project at UNDERC in Summer and Fall 2021
Assisted with Long Lake data collection and lab processing in 2020 and 2021
Processed fish diet samples from Crampton and Jones lakes summer 2020 sampling
Noah Gonring (Undergraduate Student 2020 - 2022)
Processed fish diet samples from Crampton and Jones lakes summer 2021 samplingAssisted with Long Lake benthic invertebrate processing from summer 2021 sampling
Processed fish diet samples from Long Lake summers 2019, 2020, and 2021 sampling
Taylor Parker (Undergraduate Student Spring 2022)
Processed fish diet samples from Crampton and Jones lakes summer 2021 sampling
Larson Aquatic Ecology Lab at the University of Illinois
Harley Lu (Undergraduate Student 2018 – 2019)
Processed crayfish samples to identify and count trematode parasites in the hepatopancreas
University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center Class Research Projects
Jackson Winslow (Summer 2021)
Studied a population gradient between fish and macroinvertebrates along the interface of a lake and creek based on habitat preference
Griffin Yates (Summer 2021)
Studied interspecific competition of largemouth and smallmouth bass
Emma Grover (Summer 2020)
Studied relationships between bluegill life history traits along a DOC gradient
Matthew Aubourg (Summer 2019)
Explored bluegill behavioral responses to dissolved organic carbon
Joseph Nowak (Summer 2019)
Studied zooplankton diversity and abundance in response to dissolved organic carbon
Professional Development
Association for Women in Science at Notre Dame STEMentorship Program
Faith Groody (2024-2025)
Conducting one-on-one professional development activities
Eva Deegan (2021 - 2022)
Discussed graduate school, including the application and admission process
Conducted one-on-one professional development activities, such as CV and Resume writing
Kari Rogers (2021 - 2022)
Discussed graduate school, including the application and admission process
Worked on internship and job applications for summer positions in Summer 2022
Conducted one-on-one professional development activities, such as CV and Resumer writing
Isabella Rascon (2020 - 2021)
Developed communication and networking skills through one-on-one meetings and professional development events