See below for lists of previous REU and Zinsmeyer research interns, mentors, and projects. Unless otherwise noted, mentors are USC faculty or graduate students.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1852220. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Aiko Abo Dominguez
Biological Sciences, USC
Mentors: Feixue Fu and Dave Hutchins
Project: How marine nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria may evolve in response to global change
Lara Breithaupt
Computer Science, Duke University
Mentor: Naomi Levine
Project: Response of marine microbes to fluctuating environmental conditions and the impact of these micro-responses on large-scale carbon cycling
Nicholas Hess
Marine Sciences, Eckerd College
Mentor: Rita Mehta, University of California Santa Cruz
Project: How fishes rely on chemical stimuli and how the natural variation in the concentration of stimuli elicit a feeding response
Gustavo Lopez-Fleming
Computer Science and Engineering, Dartmouth College
Mentors: Feixue Fu and David Hutchins
Project: Quantifying how future rising ocean temperatures may interact with global cycles of limiting nutrients
Ian Osborne
Engineering, Harvey Mudd College
Mentor: James Moffett
Project: The extent of hyperaccumulation of heavy metals and iodine in seawater
Mahala Peter-Frank
Marine Biology and Microbiology, University of California Los Angeles
Mentor: Carly Kenkel
Project: Causes and consequences of phenotypic plasticity in the foundational Caribbean coral species Acropora cervicornis
Paola Salazar
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management, Oklahoma State University
Mentor: Rita Mehta, University of California Santa Cruz
Project: Diet and growth rates of moray eel, Gymnothorax mordax, in rocky reefs around Catalina Island
Miguel Sanchez
Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Webb Institute
Mentor: Sergey Nuzhdin
Project: Physiological process of kelp aging in the field and the internal processes leading to kelp death and carbon release
Kalen Strunk
Cellular and Molecular Biology, Oklahoma State University
Mentor: Myrna Jacobsen
Project: Correlating the physiological state of the kelp microbiome using extracellular enzyme analysis
Isaac Xie
Environmental Studies and Chemistry, Middlebury College
Mentor: Will Berelson
Project: How mixing of ocean waters with CO2 mitigation effluent products impacts ocean chemistry, ocean particles, and ocean life
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Emma Johnson
Geological Sciences, USC
Mentor: James Moffett
Project: Iodide measurements and optimum multi-parameter analysis of water masses off the Oregon coast
Annapurna Leung
Marine Science, University of Maine Orono
Mentors: Feixue Fu and Dave Hutchins
Project: The Influence of Nutrients & Temperature on Prochlorococcus in Relation to Climate Change
Helena Lewis
Marine Science, Eckerd College
Mentor: Rita S. Mehta (University of California Santa Cruz)
Project: Assession Behavioral Repsonses to Ecologically Relevant Prey Chemical Stimuli
Lilia Mendoza
Biochemistry, Mount St. Mary’s University
Mentor: Adriane Jones (Mount St. Mary’s University)
Project: Analysis of the changing microbiome of Macrocystis pyrifera in the gametophyte stage
Kekoa Nelson
Environmental Biology and Ecology, California State University Dominguez Hills
Mentor: Sergey Nuzhdin
Project: The effects of heat stress on the photosynthetic products & byproducts of giant kelp
Isaac Olson
Oceanography and Environmental Studies, University of Washington
Mentors: Feixue Fu and Dave Hutchins
Project: Anthropogenic Change and the Worsening of Pseudo-nitzschia-induced Harmful Algal Blooms
Sarah Padilla
Biology, Connecticut College
Mentor: Carly Kenkel
Project: Comparing measures of algal symbiont health in thermally stressed Acropora cervicornis
Taylor Trivino
Marine Science, California State University Monterey Bay
Mentor: Jed Fuhrman
Project: Optimizing Sampling Parameters for Bacterial and Viral Counts using SYBR Green I DNA Stain
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Vanessa Aguayo
Biology, Mount St. Mary’s University
Mentor: Adriane Jones (Mount St. Mary’s University)
Project: Microbiome associated with giant kelp
Kristina Fleetwood
Marine Biology, University of California Santa Cruz
Mentors: Rita Mehta and Kelley Voss (University of California Santa Cruz)
Project: Octopus self-defense
Cristina Garcia-Garcia
Biology, Mount St. Mary’s University
Mentor: Adriane Jones (Mount St. Mary’s University)
Project: Microbiome associated with giant kelp
Maya Gardner
Biology, Grinnell College
Mentors: Carly Kenkel and Wyatt Million
Project: Local adaptation and growth of corals
Liam McGouldrick
Biology and Environmental Science, Indiana University
Mentors: Carly Kenkel and Wyatt Million
Project: Local adaptation and growth of corals
Michelle Paramo-Reyes
Biology, Ventura College
Mentors: Sergey Nuzhdin, Inessa Chandra, Ignacio Navarrete, and Diane Kim
Project: Kelp aquaculture seed bank and diel patterns
Bryan Rodriguez
Biological Science, California State University Fullerton
Mentors: David Hutchins and Nina Yang
Project: Nitrogen fixers in a warming ocean
Janell Segura
Biology, Mount St. Mary’s University
Mentors: Sergey Nuzhdin, Inessa Chandra, Ignacio Navarrete, and Diane Kim
Project: Kelp aquaculture seed bank and diel patterns
Erin Tharp
Environmental Studies, USC
Mentors: Larry Allen and Elizabeth Burns (California State University Northridge)
Project: Catalina kelp forest ecology
Brayden Wiley
Marine Biology, San Diego State University
Mentors: Matthew Edwards and Darrin Ambat (San Diego State University)
Project: Blue-banded goby reproductive output and behavior under ocean acidification