Pespeni Lab Photo – Summer 2023

(With a little editing magic by Alison to add Csenge, who was in the UK doing her QuEST internship this summer!)

Principal Investigator

Melissa H. Pespeni

Melissa is an evolutionary biologist interested in identifying the molecular underpinnings of complex adaptive phenotypes and understanding how ecological and evolutionary processes interact to shape a species’ or population’s capacity to adapt to current and future biotic and abiotic challenges. Her research involves genomic and physiological analyses in both natural and experimental populations. Read more about her personal story here.

PespeniCV_Sept_2025

Postdoctoral  Fellows

Daniel Sadler 

Daniel is a marine biologist and evolutionary biologist. His research uses experimental approached to understand adaptive potential from a phenotypic and genomic perspective. As a postdoctoral researcher he is working in the Pespeni Lab assessing adaptive potential in sea urchins using seascape genomics and genomic offset approaches.

Alison Hall

Alison is a former PhD candidate and NSF QuEST fellow, and now postdoc interested in understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that underlie adaptation to climate change in marine ecosystems. She is excited to use genetic and genomic tools to conserve biodiversity and understand broader ecological implications of adaptation. Outside the lab, Alison enjoys playing in the beautiful East coast outdoors.

Graduate Students

Ericka Griggs

Ericka is a PhD candidate and NSF GRFP. Ericka’s love of loons and interests in wildlife health, disease, and conservation brought her to the lab after completing her master’s degree at Western Connecticut State University studying environmental and climate related stresses in breeding Common Loons. For her PhD research, Ericka is exploring the impact of environmental contaminants and climate change on pathogen infection dynamics in a diversity of bird taxa including loons and eagles. When not in the field or lab, you can find Ericka spending time with her dog Marty. Ericka is shown here holding a day old Common Loon chick. Ericka is co-advised by Ellen Martinisen.

Andrew McCracken

Andrew is a PhD candidate, NSF GRFP and BilDS (formally QuEST) fellow interested in understanding how organisms respond and adapt to disease outbreaks, particularly in the context fluctuating environmental and ecological conditions. He uses a combination of bioinformatics, selection experiments, and evolutionary simulations to understand the mechanisms underlying resistance, resilience, and vulnerability in wildlife diseases. He is also actively investigating the role of the microbiome in the progression Sea Star Wasting Disease.

Sarah Stover

Sarah is a PhD student and a BilDS (formerly QuEST) fellow interested in trans-generational plasticity and how parental environment can contribute to offspring resilience/recruitment during stressful conditions. She is particularly interested in how these stressors can impact connectivity between different populations and the limits of generational plasticity in a fluctuating environment. When not in the lab, she enjoys drawing, camping and playing the fiddle.

Chanchal Saratkar

Chanchal joined the lab in the Spring of 2023. Chanchal was a Zoology BS major and is now a MS student interested in studying population genetics in arthropods in the context of Earth’s changing climate. Here they are doing a zooplankton tow in Lake Champlain!

Undergraduate Students

Aly Rodger

Aly joined the lab in the Spring of 2023 and is a Biological Science BS major interested in genetics, ecology, and conservation of marine ecosystems. Here she is sorting copepods from Lake Champlain to assess changes in thermal tolerance across seasons.

 

Kaiden Capsey

Kaiden is a Sophomore Biology student with a specific interest in ecology and evolution. He grew up in Vermont, and is an actively serving member of the Vermont Army National Guard. He likes hiking, fishing, being outdoors, and collecting legos and vinyls.

Lily Cubanski

Lily joined the lab in Spring 2025 and is a Biological Science BS major with a minor in Chemistry. They are interested in genetics, molecular biology, and forensic science, and are excited to gain more hands-on research experience. In their spare time, they enjoy being outdoors and playing music.

Luneiry Monroy

Luneiry is a Microbiology BS major interested in host-pathogen interactions and the molecular mechanisms behind viral and genetic mutations.

And YOU?!

If you are a highly motivated and dedicated undergraduate interested in our research, please read, fill out, and send this application to Dr. Pespeni with an introduction to your motivations!  The typical flow is to first become familiar with the organisms and types of research questions addressed and tools used in the lab.  To do this, you would assist with current research projects and attend weekly lab meetings.  If you are particularly attentive to detail and compassionate, you can shadow current lab assistants to learn the ropes to become an animal care technician.  After on average a year in the lab doing the above activities, you may feel confident in designing and carrying out your own research project with Dr. Pespeni’s guidance.

Pespeni Lab alum:

Former Postdocs

Victoria Glynn, NSF Ocean Sciences postdoctoral fellowship, 2026
Victoria is now a postdoc

Reid Brennan, Postdoc, 2021
Reid is now a research sceintist at NOAA

Csenge Petak, PhD Candidate adn QuEST Fellow, 2025
Csenge is now a postdoc at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society

Lauren Ashlock, PhD Candidate and QuEST Fellow, 2022
Lauren is now

Manali is now

Ethan joined the lab in the Fall of 2023 and is a Biological Science BS major interested in host-pathogen and microbiome dynamics in disease, and how these interactions are affected by Earth’s changing conditions.

Alanis Papoulias

Jamie Cull-Host

Jaime was a summer intern 2023 and graduated with their Environmental Science degree from UVM. Originally from New Mexico, Jamie loves the outdoors, origami, reading, and of course playing with copepods!

Emily Shore

Emily earned her Masters in the lab as a student interested in human impacts on the environment.  Her thesis explored the impacts of microplastics on the fitness and behavior of copepods.

Kate Huber,  Zoology  BS  2019

Research: Impacts of novel plastic leachate compounds on larval sea urchin development.

Currently: Starting as a Masters student in the UK studying conservation.

Aubrey Pelletier, Biology BS 2019

Honors College thesis research: Characterized the genetic variation in carbonic anhydrase, a protein critical for resilient physiological phenotypes in ocean acidification conditions.

Currently: Marine research technician in Indonesia!

Becky Nesnevich, Zoology BS 2018

Honors College thesis research: Tested for differences in microbial communities between five different tissues of healthy and sick sea stars affected with Sea Star Wasting Disease.

Currently: Fisheries catch inspector on ships off the coast of Massachusetts.

Chelsea Darwin, Biological Sciences BS 2020

Her thesis explored the adaptability of the marine copepods to different environmental stressors such as changes in temperature and salinity.

Anya Steinhart, Biology BA 2020

Anya’s research explored the genetic and physiological response mechanisms of the tropical sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus to extreme low salinity events, mimicking tropical storms.

 

Heidi Hargarten – Our former Lab Tech extraordinaire!