Our Grad Students
Learn more about this year's Biology graduate students.
Lynsey Blevins
Lynsey graduated from the University of Virginia in 2024 with a BS in Biology, with a Concentration in Environmental and Biological Conservation, and a Minor in Environmental Science. While completing her undergraduate degree, Lynsey completed research in Dr. Alan Bergland’s Lab examining the impact of a genetic inversion on the phenotypic characteristics of Drosophila melanogaster. After graduation, Lynsey continued pursuing research at UVA as a Lab Technician in the lab of Dr. Katja Kasimatis by studying the effects of sexual conflict on the genome of Caenorhabditis elegans. Lynsey began her graduate work at UWF in the Fall of 2026 in the lab of Dr. Alexis Janosik.
Baye Bowman
Baye came to the University of West Florida in 2020 for an undergraduate degree in marine biology and explored microplastics in Vermillion Snapper gut contents for undergraduate research. She stayed at the University to pursue a Masters degree in general biology in 2024. She is a thesis student in the Janosik Lab that looked at diet and aging in Vermillion Snapper using molecular tools and conventional tools such as DNA barcoding, telomere length analysis and otolith analysis respectively.
Jaxon Cooper
Jaxon graduated from the University of Tampa in 2023 with a BS in marine science/biology and minors in environmental science and chemistry. After completing an internship with the Ocean Acidification Lab at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, FL, he joined the Pomory lab in 2025 and is working on a thesis exploring the regenerative capacity of synaptid sea cucumbers.
Kalob M. Cooper
Kalob graduated from the University of West Florida in 2023 with a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Psychology. During his undergraduate program, he developed a passion for teaching, in which he served as an undergraduate teaching assistant in biology, chemistry, and psychology. In Spring 2023, he was presented with the UWF Cannon Citation Award for his service to students. Kalob began graduate school in Spring 2026, where his thesis research will focus on applications of computational biology to human health. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. with the goal of teaching and mentoring future generations of biology students.
Maggie Davis
Maggie graduated from the University of West Florida in 2021 with a BS in Biological Sciences. She arrived in the Bogantes lab in 2023, where she completed undergraduate research on the genetic connectivity and diversity of the Eastern Oyster. In 2025, Maggie started her graduate research in the Bogantes Lab which focuses on using bacterial communities as bioindicators in natural and restored salt marshes.
Charlotte DuBose
Charlotte DuBose earned her bachelor's degree cum laude from the University of Florida in 2024. She majored in Plant Science with a minor in Soil and Water Chemistry. While working on her bachelor’s degree, she completed an internship at UF West Florida Research and Education Center (WFREC) in the entomology lab. Her project involved monitoring for an invasive lepidopteran species while surveying native species. She presented this research at the Southeastern Entomological Society of America and placed second overall in the competition. She is currently completing her master’s degree in biology at UWF. Her thesis research focuses on changes in the water column microbial community during rapid sea ice formation in the Southern Ross Sea. As part of her research, she has conducted DNA extractions in collaboration with the University of South Alabama. Aside from her research, she works for the Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation (CEDB), processing samples from our local Pensacola Beach. Her academic career has provided opportunities to conduct and present research internationally. These experiences deepened her interest in exploring some of Earth’s most challenging environments. She plans to pursue a PhD so she can continue studying life in extreme environments.
Erick Fortner
Erick is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his B.S. in Biology from Piedmont University in North Georgia, where he performed research on habitat partitioning of salamanders. His passion for marine science led him to Pensacola, where he is currently pursuing a master's degree at UWF. His research in the Janosik Lab focuses on using mucus obtained from moon jellyfish to capture microplastics from water samples across a range of salinities.
Samantha Hurst
Samantha graduated from UWF in 2023 with a bachelors in marine biology. In that time she interned for the Marine Resources Division of Escambia County and assisted on a graduate students thesis on microplastics in sea turtle eggs in the Janosik Lab. She used her experience in the lab to design a master's thesis investigating hybridization between loggerhead and green sea turtles in Northwest Florida.
Annalie Janus
Annalie graduated from the University of West Florida in 2022 with a BS in Environmental Science. After graduation she spent two years as a research assistant for the Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modelling division of the Environmental Protection Agency. Annalie started graduate research in the Janosik Lab fall of 2025 investigating microplastics in reef sediments.
Christopher Kelzer
Chris grew up in central Florida developing an interest in environmental studies and following this path received his BS in Biological Sciences from UWF in 2023. Following his undergrad. he interned at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Destin, FL in 2024 gaining experience in animal husbandry with various marine and terrestrial species. Following this he interned with Mote Marine Laboratory from 2024 to 2025 working in their Coral Health and Disease Lab, National Coral Gene Bank, and Benthic Coral Lab maintaining various tropical coral species. Recently Chris began his thesis track under Dr. Christopher Pomory.
Dante Knight
Dante graduated from the University of West Florida in 2026 with a BS in Marine Biology. During his undergraduate degree he participated as a STEM Scholar and Chemistry Success leader. He joined the Miron research lab in 2025 and investigated the morphology of sexual hosts of the Amazon molly. His graduate research will focus on the behavior and sperm biology of captive Poecilids.
Kathleen McCrea
Kathleen graduated from the University of West Florida with her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences in 2023. As an undergraduate she had the opportunity to perform research on marine turtles and fell in love with marine biology. She is now returning to UWF as a graduate student studying marine biology.
Sydney Rodell
Sydney graduated with her BS in cell and molecular biology from St. Petersburg College in 2025. She completed three semesters of undergraduate research in a microbiology lab and one semester in a cancer biology lab. Currently, she is in the Lotfy Lab at UWF doing stem cell research relative to immunomodulation. She hopes to go on to complete a PhD in developmental biology and study regeneration.
Kaya Ruda
Kaya graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in Biology in 2023. She joined the Miron Lab in 2025 and her graduate research focuses on investigating ecological divergence in mosquitofish populations influenced by exposure to paper mill effluent.
Zoe Salandy
Zoe was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She graduated from University of West Florida with her Bachelor's of Science in Marine Biology in May of 2026. She is now a Master's student at UWF. She joined the Janosik Lab in 2023 and her Honors thesis involved characterization of environmental DNA from Antarctic sediments of fjord habitats. Her graduate research will continue to build on this project as she remains in the Janosik Lab.
Connor Sierra
Connor graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Integrative Biology. During his undergrad, he had the opportunity to assist in the Ngumbi laboratory in the department of entomology at UIUC. In 2025, Connor started his graduate work at UWF as both a TA for biology undergrads and a student in Dr. Pomory’s lab where he is focusing on the regeneration abilities of brittlestars.
Allison Thompson
Allison graduated from the University of West Florida in 2024 with a B.S. in Marine Biology. As an undergrad Allison had the opportunity to do some undergraduate research at UWF and work as a lab technician at UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. Allison began her graduate work at UWF in Spring of 2025 doing research under Dr. Alexis Janosik using DNA to investigate molecular phylogeny.
Zack Whalen
Zack graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Penn State University and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Florida. He currently works as a biological scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where he designs, implements, and manages aquatic habitat restoration projects throughout Northwest Florida. His graduate research will focus on killifish genomics. In addition to his graduate studies in biology, Zack is also pursuing an M.S. in Computer Science at UWF.
