Kristina Cammen

The Cammen Lab is excited to welcome Christina McCosker, a new PhD student who is part of the inaugural class of the One Health and the Environment NRT program.

Christina’s interdisciplinary dissertation research will be co-advised by Kristina Cammen and Carly Sponarski, and include aspects of genomics, ecology, and human dimensions.  Christina’s research will focus on understanding the drivers of disease susceptibility in gray and harbor seal populations in the Northwest Atlantic.

Seals on the Penobscot River. Photo by Lauri Leach.

Congratulations to Alayna (Hawkins) Gigliotti, who successfully defended her Masters in Marine Biology today!  Alayna’s thesis was entitled, “From Phocine Distemper to Avian Influenza: A Study of Immunogenetic Diversity in Two Sympatric Pinniped Species.”  Despite the pandemic, Alayna has had a big summer – moving home to Pennsylvania, getting married, and defending her Masters.  While preparing her thesis for publication, Alayna plans to pursue jobs in the bioinformatics field and apply for PhD positions in marine mammal science.

A screenshot of Alayna’s research question presented during her thesis presentation on Zoom.

The Cammen Lab is excited to welcome Julia Sunnarborg and Dara Yiu, two new PhD students who joined the ME-eDNA research team this summer.

Dara’s dissertation research will be co-advised by Doug Rasher and Kristina Cammen.  Based at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Dara’s research will focus on developing and implementing eDNA-based tools to study kelp-forest associated ecosystems.

Julia’s dissertation research will be co-advised by Kristina Cammen and Mike Kinnison.  Her research will focus on developing and implementing eDNA-based tools to study seals and their food webs in coastal Maine waters.  To learn more about Julia, check out this recent story in the Maine EPSCoR newsletter.

Meet Maine-eDNA: Julia Sunnarborg, Graduate Research Assistant

Congratulations to Lauri Leach, who has been named a 2021 Knauss Finalist!  One of the most prestigious marine policy fellowships in the U.S, the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program places early career professionals in federal government offices in Washington, D.C. for one year starting February 2021. Fellows are placed in both legislative and executive positions, following a placement week this fall.  Stay tuned to find out where Lauri will be next year!

Lauri is a current Masters student in the Cammen lab whose research focuses on pinnipeds in the Penobscot River.  To learn more, check out her research blog and stunning photos from the field.

Congratulations to Holland Haverkamp, who successfully defended his Masters in Ecology & Environmental Sciences today!  Holland’s thesis was entitled, “Harp, harbor, and gray seal strandings in the Gulf of Maine: A retrospective socio-ecological analysis.” This research was funded by a grant from the NOAA Prescott program and completed in collaboration with Marine Mammals of Maine and Allied Whale.

Sarah Burton and Maddie Jorge sampling seal scat and eDNA on Cape Cod with Lisa Sette from the Center for Coastal Studies

Despite (or perhaps particularly because of) an unusual end to our spring semester this year, May is always a time for celebration on a college campus.  Please join us in congratulating Sarah Burton and Maddie Jorge for graduating with their Bachelors of Science in Marine Sciences from the University of Maine!  Sarah and Maddie have both been part of the Cammen Lab for many years – Sarah joined as a sophomore initially contributing to a retrospective analysis of marine mammal stranding data and then getting her feet wet in the field, the lab, and the marine mammal rehabilitation worlds.  Maddie joined the lab in her junior year as a Maine Learning Assistant for Kristina’s Marine Mammal Ecology and Conservation course, and then transitioned into a research assistant position.  Sarah and Maddie completed a team Capstone project focused on studying the marine mammals of Western Passage using a combination of visual and eDNA surveys.