Office Staff & Researchers

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Researchers

Christopher Bucher

Christopher Bucher

Researcher I

Chris grew up in Michigan, fascinated by the Great Lakes. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Toledo in 2022. He joined Dr. Garvey’s lab in the fall of 2023 and currently works on invasive carp telemetry on the Illinois and Wabash Rivers.

Amy Buhman

Amy Buhman

Researcher I
Dr. Heist's Lab

Amy is a Researcher in Dr. Ed Heist's Conservation Genomics Lab. She is currently doing pallid sturgeon conservation work. She runs genotyping assays, such as SNPs and microsatellites, as well as high-throughput sequencing. These efforts help agencies determine sturgeon conservation strategies in the Missouri and Mississippi River basins. She graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and a minor in Chemistry. She then joined Dr. Heist's lab as a researcher in 2019.
Dr. Peng Chen

Dr. Peng Chen

Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Garvey's Lab

Dr. Peng Chen serves CFAAS of SIU and is a postdoctoral fellow of fisheries Science. He has a PhD degree in fisheries science from Shanghai Ocean University, China. Past studies surrounding the fisheries oceanography of marine species mainly focused on how environmental or ocean processes (such as upwelling, water thermal structure, remote sensing-derived ocean environmental variables) relate with spatial and temporal dynamics of fish stocks. Some results were based on the development of fishing forecast technology to predict the abundance, biomass, habitat, and fishing ground of marine commercial species. The purpose of his current research is to develop a generalized, user-friendly individual agent-based model of sportfish growth for fisheries management in lakes and streams of the central/midwestern US. Current studies revolve around the marine species' population dynamics under long-term or oscillating climate variabilities. Models can provide important and basic information for the management and conservation of aquatic animals and hence promote sustainable development for the sportfish fisheries.
Dr. Chinthaka Sinhapura

Dr. Chinthaka Sinhapura

Scientist
Dr. Lydy's Lab

Cameron Davis

Cameron Davis

Researcher I
Dr. Garvey's Lab

Cameron graduated from SIU in 2018 and has been a Researcher in Dr. Garvey's lab since August 2018. He works on bigheaded carp research projects, mainly with hydroacoustics and telemetry on the Illinois River.
Paul Hitchens

Paul Hitchens

Researcher II
Dr. Heist's Lab

Paul is an aquaculture specialist in Dr. Heist's Lab. 
Hannah Holmquist

Hannah Holmquist

Lab Manager
Dr. Garvey's Lab
Dr. Whitledge's Lab

Hannah grew up in Minnesota, loving the outdoors. She received her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Animal Ecology at Iowa State University. She recently received her Master's degree in Zoology at Southern Illinois University. Her Master's thesis focused on fish community ecology looking at how the fish community is influenced by water level fluctuations. She is currently the lab manager for Dr. Garvey and Dr. Whitledge's labs.
Dr. Kara Huff-Hartz

Dr. Kara Huff-Hartz

Senior Scientist

Giovanni Molinari

Giovanni Molinari

Post Doctoral

Dr. Joe Mruzek

Dr. Joe Mruzek

Associate Scientist

Joe completed his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2022 under Dr. Sophia Passy. His dissertation focused on how dispersal limitation and habitat filtering shaped freshwater fish communities.  Joe studied the effects of instream flow on fish biodiversity across South Carolina as a postdoc at Clemson under Drs. Brandon Peoples and Luke Bower. At SIU, Joe is working with Dr. Jim Garvey to study movement patterns and environmental preferences of invasive bigheaded carps. The goal of this research is to inform agencies working to mitigate invasion and conserve native biodiversity of the Ohio River Basin.

Kathleen Wells

Kathleen Wells

Researcher I

Office Staff

Dan Richardson

Dan Richardson

Business Manager

Alysha Karns-Tellor

Alysha Karns-Tellor

Office Administrator