FORMER GRADUATE STUDENTS
Daniel Zajic, PhD 2020
Daniel’s dissertation focused on the physiological mechanisms that allow for vertebrate survival during exposures to anoxia (no oxygen). He investigated the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and its role in survival of embryos of the annual killifish, A. limnaeus, during bouts of no oxygen. Daniel's dissertation also focused on survival of embryos during dehydration stress and elucidating the metabolic pathways responsible for survival during aerial incubation. Daniel is currently an Assistant Professor of Anatomy in the Health, Human Performance, and Athletics Department at Linfield University in McMinnville, OR.
Erin Davis, MS 2020
Erin received her MS from PSU in Fall 2020. She moved to Portland from SW Ohio for graduate school and worked in the Podrabsky lab for 3 years while also serving as a teaching assistant for the Human Anatomy and Physiology labs at PSU. Erin’s work focused on the molecular mechanism for entry into and exit from diapause in A. limnaeus embryos via the vitamin D pathway. Her continued research interests include unique organisms, environmental influence on physiology, and biology education research.
Claire Riggs, PhD 2017
Amie Romney, PhD 2017
For her doctorate research, Amie explored the genetic mechanisms and environmental interactions that regulate developmental plasticity in the annual killifish, A. limnaeus. Her work required a deep analysis of gene transcription across multiple developmental stages, in embryos exposed to different environmental conditions. She generated profiles of both protein coding and non-coding RNA transcripts in these experiments in order to maximize the ability to identify patterns of gene expression that may explain the biology of diapause in A. limnaeus.
Steven Cody Woll, MS 2016
Josiah Wagner, PhD 2015
As a graduate student in the Podrabsky lab, Josiah studied the evolutionary genomics, mitochondrial genetics, and DNA damage tolerance of A. limnaeus. Josiah is currently a clinical geneticist for Providence St. Joseph Health. At Providence, he uses modern sequencing tools to identify clinically relevant gene alterations in solid and blood cancers.
Greg Silver, MS 2015
Greg’s primary research interests are in the biology and ecology of fishes native to the Pacific Northwest, particularly Pacific lampreys (Entosphenus tridentatus) and western brook lampreys (Lampetra richardsoni). Broadly, he was interested in understanding the biotic and abiotic factors that influence the abundance and distribution of these declining species. As part of his master’s thesis research, he evaluated the effects of osmotic stress on survival of larval lampreys in the laboratory and its influence on their distribution in the natural environment. This information addressed critical knowledge gaps relative to larval Pacific lamprey physiology and ecology and provide a greater understanding of the importance of mainstem river habitats, particularly estuarine regions for larval lamprey rearing. Greg now works for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission as a Lamprey Biologist.
Ian Garett, MS 2013
Timothy Cleaver, MS 2012
Andy McCracken, MS 2012
Skye Anderson, MS 2012
Vicki Alla, MS, 2011
Ben Pri-Tal, MS, 2010
Cami Meller, PhD, 2010
Tony Chennault, MS, 2008
Ben Machado, MS, 2007
Sarah Lyon, MS 2006
Brad Ryan, PhD 2005
FORMER UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Meranda Corona, Ph.D. student (UC Davis)
B.S. Portland State University
My areas of interest are the novel adaptations that enable organisms to survive in changing or extreme environments. Specifically, I have focused on the physiology and molecular biology of teleosts that may affect how these fish interact with their environments. In the annual killifish, Austrofundulus limnaeus, I studied embryonic diapause. The work I was a part of discovered that the Vitamin D pathway plays an essential role in this adaptation and suggested that environmental information is integrated into developmental programs through this conserved pathway in teleosts, and perhaps all vertebrates. Future interests lie in researching similar adaptations to extreme environments in other species of teleosts. I am currently a PhD student in Dr. Dietmar Kultz’s lab at the University of California at Davis. My project is focused on stress tolerance in the California Grunion and this project is a collaboration with the Podrabsky lab.
Undergraduate Laboratory Technicians
Jay Hoffarth, Portland State University, 2014
Johnny Co, Portland State University
Bao Luong, Portland State University, Microbiology
Kyle Mader, Portland State University, B.A. Art, 2013
Scott Egan, Portland State University, M.S. Civil Engineering, 2012
Julia Nguyen, Portland State University, B.S. Biology, 2012
Tiffany Nguyen, Southridge High School, summer student
Uche Olemgbe, Portland State Univeristy, B.S. Biology, 2012
Trinh Quach, Portland State University, Accounting
Natalie Wilson, Portland State University, B.S. 2011