Biology Directory

Current Biology Graduate Students

Kaylie Adams / Graduate Assistant

With a background in wildlife conservation, I am interested in looking at the intersection between the traditional in-situ conservation efforts and the ex-situ work being done at accredited zoos and aquariums.

Kaci Agre / P.S.M candidate

Amir Alayoubi / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 311

My current projects investigate the neuroendocrine mechanisms of behavioral plasticity. Using the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata), I am characterizing changes in neuronal activation to explain how prior experiences and genetic lineages shape behavioral patterns.

Austin Allison / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 237

Chase Alsup / Graduate Assistant

Completed undergraduate degree between 2016-2020 at Colorado State University Fort Collins in Biological Sciences and Conservation Biology. I worked closely with the office of Orientation and Transition Programs and as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Dept. of Biology. I am now a first-year PSM student focused on canine behavior.

Maddie Amick / Graduate Assistant

Harper Appel / Graduate Assistant

Jackie Bach / Stu Academic Support

Brooke Berger / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 337

Disease ecology, quantitative ecology, waterfowl migration.

Conor Bertucci / Graduate Assistant

Ashley Breusing / PSM Zoo, Aquarium, Animal Shelter Management Student

I am a new graduate student for the PSM program and I am interested in the animal shelter management track. I am interested in focusing my studies on animal behavior and enrichment.

Emmalee Carruth / CSU Graduate Student

I am from Boise, Idaho and I just moved here to Fort Collins for the PSM program in Zoo, Aquarium, and Animal Shelter Management. Before moving here I worked at at vet clinic for two years. I got my undergraduate degree in Wildlife Resources for the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho.

Amandeep Cheema / Graduate Assistant

I'm interested in the molecular effects of abiotic environmental stressors in plants.

Jae Chung / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 407

Kathy Condon / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 341

Ph.D. Student in the Knapp Lab interested in plant and ecosystem ecology and precipitation legacy effects

Cole Deal / PhD Candidate
Office: Biology 237

PhD Candidate in Dr. Cory Williams lab studying the neuroendocrine circuits that drive seasonal feeding shifts in ground squirrels.

Liz DeCosmo

Currently in my 4th year Undergraduate in Zoology and 1st year PSM in Zoo, Aquarium, and Animal Shelter Management

Chris deRoux / Graduate Assistant

Elizabeth Diaz-Clark / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 435

Kord Dicke / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 307

Carina Donne / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 339

Nathan Dorff / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 343

I am an aquatic ecologist. I use biota (primarily insects) to look at response to disturbance in stream ecosystems. I am particularly interested in "life below the flow" or invertebrates living in the hyporheic zone.

Holden Fox / Graduate Assistant

Lydia Garner / Research Associate Animal Technician

Kendra Gilbertson / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 337

Talia Head / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 209

Sydney Hedberg / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 343

Meg Hemmerlein / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 211

Lita Hernandez / PSM Zoo, Aquarium, Animal Shelter Management Student

With my conservation, fisheries and sociology background, I am interested looking to combine social science perspective (humans), with education and outreach with fisheries/ native fish species population conservation- especially in an Aquarium setting.

Nicole Heskin

I am a dedicated animal welfare professional with a broad background in shelter management, leadership, behavioral care, medicine, and direct animal support. My career spans multiple states, and I'm passionate about making a positive impact on animals' lives. I bring extensive experience in team management, program implementation, and continuous learning through certifications, driven by my belief in the welfare of animals and the people who care for them. My goal is to inspire others to provide the care and compassion that every animal deserves, envisioning a future where all pets have the chance to thrive.

Hannah Horowitz / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 307

Brandon Hylton / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 207

Makenna Juergens / PhD Student

PhD student in Dr. Kate Wilsterman's lab interested in reproductive physiology and endocrinology

Kira Kapit / Graduate Assistant

Hannah Knox / Graduate Assistant

Shady Kuster / PhD Student
Office: Biology 437

Jacob Lamb / Graduate Assistant

Casey Lee / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 313

Mary Linabury / PhD Candidate
Office: Biology 339

I study pulse/press resource dynamics in grassland plant communities.

Jessie Mader / Graduate Assistant

Ryan McShane / USGS Water Scientist and PhD Candidate

Julianna Mendez / Graduate Assistant

I am a Ph.D. student in the Hoke Lab interested in animal communication and neural mechanisms during various social interactions.

Myaih Mikolaizik / PSM Student

Hello, I am Myaih Mikolaizik. My pronouns are she/her/hers. I am from a small town in northern Michigan. I got my undergraduate degree in Zoology here at CSU. Now I am pursuing my PSM and have an interest in animal conservation.

Kate Miller / HABIC Animal Trainer & Volunteer Coordinator
Phone: (970) 491-8591

Mel Morado / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 213

Dylan Moss / Graduate Assistant

Devin Mosswood / Graduate Assistant

Sam Ogden / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 441

Nathan Ooms / Professional Science Masters (PSM): Zoo, Aquarium, and Sanctuary Management

Josie Otto / Ph.D. Candidate
Office: Biology 435

I integrate my disciplinary training in ecology and science education to study how early-career ecologists develop and strengthen their ecological literacy and identity.

Andrew Paton / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 409

Fourth year PhD candidate in the Peers lab studying pigment biosynthesis in diatom algae NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Cassidy Payne / Stu Food & Retail Service

Charlie Payne / Graduate Student/Research Associate Animal Technician
Office: VTH

I am a Professional Science Master's student in Zoo, Aquarium, and Shelter Management, with an interest in animal behavior and husbandry. I currently work with the animals on campus through Lab Animal Resources, and teach a LIFE 102 lab.

Aly Pillard / Graduate Student Representative

Erica Robertson / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 305

Marina Rodriguez / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 305

My research integrates telomere dynamics, applied conservation genomics, and evolutionary genomics to better understand the effects of climate change on migratory birds.

Michelle Roy / Graduate Assistant

Lizzy Rylance / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 307

Annalise Schaaf / PSM Zoo, Animal Shelter, and Aquarium Management, Graduate Teaching Assistant

As a CSU Graduate Student I am advancing my career on the zoo management track through the PSM program. Additionally I am teaching BZ 212 labs and helping students tackle the complex world of invertebrate science .

Ari Schlumbohm / Graduate Assistant
Office: AZ

Avery Schneider / Professional Science Master's in Zoo, Aquarium, and Animal Shelter Management Candidate

Avery Schneider is a first year in the PSM program. She has worked with large felines at a wildlife sanctuary and has worked in a small animal veterinary clinic. She volunteers for Northern Colorado Friends of Ferals and set up free vaccine clinics for cats in low income communities for her Honors Thesis. She is excited to expand her knowledge, acquire more technical skills, and learn from her peers as she enters this program.

Sean Schult / Stu Food & Retail Service

Samantha Sherry / Stu Researcher

I am in the Accelerated Masters Program (AMP) at CSU and will be finishing up my senior year of undergrad studying Zoology and Conservation Biology! I am in my first year of the Zoo, Aquarium, Animal Shelter Management PSM program here at CSU!

Alex Siggers / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 339

Interested in how abiotic drivers shape above- and belowground communities through plant-soil interactions. Working from the individual to ecosystem scale to elucidate mechanisms of change.

Jacy Stampes / Graduate Assistant
Office: ARBL ARBL

Matthew Sturchio / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 339

Plant Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Plant Ecophysiology. Specifically, the ecological impact of solar energy infrastructure in natural systems

Tyler Todd / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 441

Greg Tooley / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 343

Patty Vail / Sloan Lab GTA
Office: Biology 439

Gus Waneka / Graduate Assistant
Office: Biology 439

I am interested in evolution of DNA replication/recombination and repair machinery. I study how these mechanisms drive variation between, and within, the three genomes housed inside plant cells: i.e nuclear, mitochondrial, and plastid genomes.

Beth Wittmann / Graduate Assistant

I am a PhD Candidate in the Garrity Lab whose research centers on diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and natural resources. Specifically my work centers on critical conservation histories with a focus on ableism and sizeism in past and present outdoor experiences. I co-instruct a graduate level class about systems of oppression in science and I collaborate with the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources department in Warner College.

Waranont Wiwaha / Stu Food & Retail Service

Alia Zieg-Link / Graduate Assistant

Corryn Zylstra / Graduate Teaching Assistant

Graduate teaching assistant for Life 102