Graduate Alumni:
Daniel Volk
Dan received a Masters of Science in Fall 2017.
Gina Ferrie
Gina received a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology in Spring 2017.
Sávio Calazans
Savio graduate Spring 2017. He was a visiting Ph.D. student from the Federal University Fluminense, RJ Brazil in Fall 2015. He also visited in Fall 2010 from the Admiral Paulo Moreira Marine Research Institute, RJ, Brazil.
Kimberly Arnaldi
Kim graduated with a Masters in Biology in Spring 2016. While in Hoffman lab, Kim studied temporal changes in genetic diversity in restored oyster reefs in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), as well as effects of harvesting on genetic diversity in references reefs in the IRL.
Alexa Trujillo
M.S. in Biology, conferred Summer 2015. Uncovering Discordance between Taxonomy and Evolutionary History in Florida Raccoons.
Vicki Villanova
M.S. in Biology, conferred Spring 2015. Genetic structure and demographic analysis of Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium). She is currently forensic scientist for the Houston County Crime Lab.
Shawnlei Breeding
Received a Professional Science Masters from UCF. She is currently working at the Avian Research Center with Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Kate Torrence
M.S. in Biology from UCF and is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biology at FSU. Her project at UCF was titled “Divergent sympatric lineages of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean crinoid Tropiometra carinata”.
Wei Yuan
Was an Undergraduate Researcher in Hoffman lab, and also received her M.S. in Biology at UCF through Hoffman Lab. Her project was titled “Larval settlement of Crassostrea virginica with non-native Perna viridis, Mytella charruana, and Megabalanus coccopoma”
Sarah Johnson May
M.S. in Biology, conferred Spring 2011. Conservation genetics of the striped newt.
Rosanna Tursi
M.S. in Biology, conferred 2010. Assessing Genetic Diversity and Population Status of the Endangered Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit. She is currently a Research Associate with Algenol Biofuels.
Tyler Hether
M.S. in Biology, conferred 2010. Using landscape genetics to assess population connectivity in a habitat generalist. He is currently a Ph.D. student at University of Idaho, Department of Biological Sciences
Matthew Gordon
M.S. in Biology, conferred 2010. Isotopic Variation in Metapopulations of the Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit.
Matt Seguin
Received his M.S. in Biology at UCF. Currently he is a Senior Aquarium Biologist at the Mote Marine Laboratory.
Sara Williams
Received her M.S. in biology at UCF in 2008. She is currently a Project Assistant at UF – Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.
Jacob F. Degner
M.S. in Biology, conferred 2007. His project at UCF was titled “Genetic and phenotypic evolution in the ornate chorus frog (Pseudacris ornata): testing the relative roles of natural selection, migration, and genetic drift.” Since leaving UCF he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Currently he is a Senior Scientist at the global pharmaceutical company, AbbVie.
Undergraduate Alumni:
Michelle Gaynor
Shelly started working in Hoffman Lab during her freshmen year of undergrad. Her project with Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Walters aimed to evaluate the impact of current restoration efforts on the genetic diversity of smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, used for shoreline stabilization, within the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida. She is currently completing a Ph.D. in Botany at the University of Florida.
Brittany Lebert
Brittany started working in the Hoffman lab the summer before her junior year. Her project focused on an invasive Barnacle species, Megabalanus coccapoma, which has invaded coastlines all around the globe. She is currently completing a M.S. at UCF.
Morgan Gobeli
Nicolette Adderton
Received her B.S. in Biology from UCF in Spring 2016.
Tom Carpino
Received his B.S. in Biology from UCF in 2016. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Public Health at the University of Califrornia, Los Angeles.
Luke Milo Chandler
Luke graduated with a B.S. in Biology in Spring 2016. While in Hoffman lab, he studied the genetic variation of populations of the Caribbean long spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, for supplemental repopulation. Luke is currently attending graduate school at the University of Florida.
Ocean Cohen
Received her B.S. in Biology at UCF in 2011. She has since received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
Jessica Kenyon
A past Undergraduate Researcher in Hoffman lab. Her project was titled “Maintaining Genetic Diversity: Establishing Parentage in a Captive Population”.
Nick Davies
Was an Undergraduate Research in the Hoffman Lab. He is currently an X-Ray technician.
Tracy Thirer
Was an undergraduate Researcher in Hoffman Lab. She is currently a Nurse Practitioner.
Sasha Brodsky
Sasha was an Undergraduate Researcher in the Hoffman Lab. Her project was titled “The Effects of Temperature on Attachment Strength of Invasive Versus Native Mussel Species.” She is currently working at the San Diego Zoo.
Lauren Smith
Lauren was an Undergraduate Researcher in Hoffman lab. Her project was titled “Measuring the Genetic Effects of a Recent Population Bottleneck Of The Keystone Urchin Species, Diadema antillarum”. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Duke.
Kali Standorf
Was an Undergraduate Researcher in the Hoffman lab. She is received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015. Kali is currently a vet at the Clay County Humane Society.
Tamara Downs
Tamara was a Undergraduate Researcher in Hoffman Lab. Her project was titled “Through time and space: studying the invasion patterns of the charru mussel”. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida.
Soren Weber
Received his B.S. in Biology from UCF and is currently a Ph.D. student at University of California, Riverside.
Kristi Ray
Was an Undergraduate Researcher in the Hoffman Lab. She is currently a Osteopathic Medicine and Masters of Public Health student at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Sara Wagers Bolivar
Was an Undergraduate Researcher in the Hoffman Lab. She is currently a Intramural Research NIAID Opportunities Fellow at the National Institute of Health.
Nancy Gillis
Was an Undergraduate Researcher in the Hoffman Lab. She is currently a Ph.D. Student in Clinical Genomics at the University of North Carolina. While at UCF she worked on a project entitled “Genetic Diversity and Population Admixture Contribute to Establishment of Mytella charruana, an Invasive Mussel”.
Visiting Scholars Alumni:
Dr. Carlos Eduardo Leite Ferreira (Cadu) – Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)
Cadu works on marine ecology of coral reef fishes. He is currently serving as a committee member on Daniel’s project involving Brazilian reef fish phylogeography.
Dr. Fabio Pitombo – Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)
Fabio works on characterizing barnacle diversity which is largely unknown. Fabio is also working on projects that involve barnacle invasions.
Nivia Maria Abrue – Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)
While here, Nivia worked on population genetics of invasive barnacles.
Sávio Calazans – Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)
Sávio is a visiting Ph.D. Student from the Federal University Fluminense, RJ Brazil. He also visited in Fall 2010 from the Admiral Paulo Moreira Marine Research Institute, RJ, Brazil. He is currently working on marine invasions of mussels using population genetics.