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Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Associates
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Halle Berger
PhD Candidate Knauss Marine Policy Fellow - 2021 - NOAA MS - 2020 - Oceanography - UConn BS - 2018 - Marine Biology - Northeastern University Halle completed her MS at UConn assessing the climate change vulnerability of Dungeness crab. Her PhD is using a multidisciplinary approach to understand the resilience of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery to ocean acidification and warming. Halle is co-advised by Dr. Samantha Siedlecki. [email protected] |
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Riley Pena
PhD Student MA - 2020 - Biology (Ecology & Evolution) - Stony Brook University BS - 2019 - Marine Biology, Ecosystems & Human Impact - Stony Brook University Riley joined the Matassa Lab in 2021 after completing his Masters' at Stony Brook University, studying the cost of sexually selected traits and thermal stress in fiddler crabs. During his PhD, Riley has been focusing on how climate change stressors and shifting species distributions may alter predator-prey interactions in benthic communities across the Northwest Atlantic. [email protected] |
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Dr. Karen Aerni
Post-Doctoral Research Associate PhD - 2023 - Marine and Environmental Sciences - Northeastern University BS - 2008 - Psychology & Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University Karen's research uses a social-ecological systems perspective to understand anthropogenic impacts on social and ecological communities across terrestrial and marine ecosystems . Karen's approach combines remote sensing, GIS, field experiments, and stakeholder engagement to understand how human activities affect food webs and ecosystem services at local, landscape. and biogeographic scales. [email protected] |
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Carlee Dunn
PhD Student BS - 2023 - Biology - College of William & Mary Some of Carlee’s past research includes photo identification of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and Humpback Whales with the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center and aerial surveys of North Atlantic Right Whales through the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute. During her PhD, Carlee is interested in investigating the spatial ecology of benthic organisms in the Long Island Sound, particularly Northern Star Coral. [email protected] |
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Hayden Holcomb
MS Student BS - 2024 - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - Tulane University Hayden is interested in the connections between spatial ecology and community ecology, relating connectedness of different populations despite potential spatial barriers. During his Master's, Hayden is interested in researching the ecological connectivity between oyster bed populations in the Long Island Sound, and how they relate to greater community ecology. email Hayden |
Undergraduates
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Jill Pasquino
Undergraduate Researcher BS - expected 2025 - Marine Sciences - University of Connecticut |
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Gabby Tullock
Undergraduate Researcher BS - expected 2025 - Marine Sciences , Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - University of Connecticut |
The Matassa Lab is not recruiting new graduate students this year.
Please check back for the Fall 2026 application cycle.
Please check back for the Fall 2026 application cycle.
Lab Values
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We strive to maintain a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for our team, our colleagues, and our broader community. This means we work in ways that allow everyone to participate to the fullest extent possible and have zero tolerance for harassment or discrimination.
We value clear and open communication and operate from positions of curiosity and mutual respect to support one another's learning and development as scientists and colleagues. |
All photographs and content copyright Catherine Matassa 2024.
