Yixuan is a Ph.D. student at the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. Her research explores the trophic ecology, sex biased movement, and reproductive energetics of invasive Silver Carp. Prior to joining SIU, she received her M.S. (2023) and B.S.(2020) from Shanghai Ocean University, where her Master's research focused on the link between foraging behavior and energy accumulation in jumbo squid.
Zoie earned both her Bachelor of Science In Wildlife Conservation and Management and her Master of Science in General Biology from Southeast Missouri State University. Her Master's capstone project examined aquatic predator-prey interactions by documenting predation on the common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) by chain pickerel (Esox niger), prepared for submission to the Herpetological Review, and contributed to her training in field observation, species interactions, and scientific communication. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she works under the supervision of Dr. Garvey. Her doctoral research focuses on the ecology, behavior, population dynamics, and management of Asian carp in large river systems, with the goal of informing effective fisheries management and invasive species control.
Junman is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Heist Lab. He is interested in how species evolve through adapting to changing environments, what molecular mechanisms play into polyploid organism adaptive evolution, and how conservation genetics is done. Currently, he is working on developing and optimizing GTseq (Genotyping-in-Thousands by sequencing) SNP panel for species discrimination in the genus Scaphirhynchus and investigating population genetics of pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), an endangered species in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. More specifically, he is looking at the population structure and effective population size of pallid sturgeon in different management units to assess the species recovery and reconstruct the demographic history using hundreds of SNPs data.
In 2022, Ryan completed his undergraduate degree at Eastern Illinois University with a major in environmental biology and minor in chemistry. In 2025, he received his Master of Science degree through Eastern Illinois University’s Center for Fisheries and Aquatic Science. During his time at EIU, his research focused on impacts of instream restoration on the community structure and functional composition of lotic fish assemblages. Currently, he is a Ph.D student at the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale under Dr. Whitledge. His research focuses on utilizing microchemistry to understand lotic fish populations.
Koaw completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado – Boulder in the study of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology. He spent a number of years in the private sector, primarily consulting and working on his own nature-education company (Koaw Nature) before returning to academia. Currently he is pursuing a M.S. at SIU within the Zoology Department and the Center for Fisheries Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences. Currently, his research focuses on species assemblages, movements, and interspecific interactions for fishes transitioning/inhabiting within swamp and riverine habitats. Studying fishes and fishing are among his favorite activities.
In 2015, Thomas earned his Associate of Arts and Associate of Science from Lorain County Community College. He then graduated in 2020 from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a focus on Biology. During his time at Cleveland State, he interned with the University of Florida’s Project Coast to monitor Red Tide in the Big Bend Region in the Gulf of Mexico. Thomas is currently a master’s student in Dr. Garvey’s lab researching silver carp and shovelnose sturgeon.
Lydia Flinders
Dr. Garvey's Lab
Email: lydia.flinders@siu.edu
Lydia earned her Associate of Arts from Northwest Iowa Community College in 2023. She completed her undergraduate degree in Animal Ecology with a focus on Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences with honors at Iowa State University in 2026. During her time at Iowa State, she interned with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She also researched shovelnose sturgeon reproduction in two Iowa rivers and completed an honors thesis focused on Lake Trout habitat availability in Northeast Minnesota. Lydia is currently a master's student in Dr. Garvey's lab researching food web dynamics and trophic ecology in a riverine environment.
Trevor Grandy
Dr. Lydy's Lab
Email: trevor.grandy@siu.edu
Trevor Grandy graduated from Alma College located in Alma, Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. During this time, he participated in 3 years of undergraduate research investigating the impacts of road salts on aquatic plants and invertebrates. He is very excited to be investigating pesticide concentrations in Chinook salmon while in Dr. Lydy’s lab at Southern Illinois University. Outside of work, Trevor enjoys fishing and watching movies.
Anthony McClendon
Dr. Whitledge's Lab
Email: anthony.mcclendon@siu.edu
Anthony grew up around nature largely because of scouting and earned his bachelor's in natural resources and environmental sciences from the University of Illinois. His coursework focused mostly on ecosystem stewardship and restoration ecology, additionally, his interests in outreach and education led him to add a minor in Film Production. His summer internship experiences convinced him to pursue a graduate program within freshwater biology. He got referred to Dr. Whitledge after emailing numerous professors in the field and am excited to be starting his own project in his lab. He will be using otolith microchemistry to identify the population response of Sauger within portions of the Ohio River to harvest legislation passed in 2018.
Erin Melcher
Dr. Lydy's Lab
Email: erin.melcher@siu.edu
Erin recently graduated from Slippery Rock University with a B.S in Biology and minor in Chemistry, along with a B.A in Spanish. She has previous research experience with earthworm ecology, critical thermal maxima in Atlantic crabs, and behavioral spectrums in Adirondack brook trout. In Dr. Lydy's lab, Erin will be working with pesticide uptake in Chinook salmon. Outside of her research, she enjoys hiking, traveling, baking, and learning different languages.
Ashlynn Shea
Dr. Garvey's Lab
Email: ashlynn.shea@siu.edu
In the spring of 2026, Ashlynn Shea earned her Bachelor of Science in Zoology with a specialization in Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences with a minor in Chemistry and a horticulture minor in Cannabis Production Systems. She worked in Dr. Garvey's lab throughout her undergraduate career as a technician in the Saluki Aquarium, located in the Gower Translational Research Center. Now she is continuing her academic career as a master's student in Dr. Garvey's Lab with a focus on aquaculture research. For her thesis she is working with Largemouth Bass, a very popular sport fish species in an aquaculture setting, conducting an overwintering project where she will look at bass physiology and respirometry.
Sage Thole
Dr. Garvey's Lab
Email: sage.thole@siu.edu
In the spring of 2026, Sage earned her Bachelor of Science in Zoology with a specialization in Fisheries Biology and Aquatic Conservation from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Currently, she is a master’s student in Dr. Garvey’s Lab focusing on interests in aquaculture, and aquatic animal husbandry. Her thesis project will be focused at Saluki Aquarium with evaluating growth, energy content, consumption of food and behavior during winter conditions of Largemouth Bass. She also serves as the primary technician at the glorified wet lab, Saluki Aquarium.
Braden Weaver is currently working on method development for the detection of neonicotinoid pesticides in chickens. These compounds can enter nontarget animals through various routes of uptake and may cause unintentional adverse health effects within the organism. Braden recently graduated from the University of Wyoming with a B.S in Chemistry and moved to Carbondale where both him and his spouse are enrolled in a graduate program.
Jack Zeitzheim is a master's student working in Dr. Whitledge lab. He graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science with a focus on Marine, Freshwater, and Environmental Biology. He is from Ohio and has worked with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as an intern before pursuing his master's at SIU. His thesis project is on invasive silver carp in the Ohio River basin. Specifically, he is using strontium isotope otolith microchemistry to determine their natal spawning and recruitment habitat. By tracing these chemical signatures, his work aims to assist resource managers in understanding the location of silver carp reproduction, which can help with mitigation and management strategies of these invasive species. He also assist with many other research projects on the Ohio River including the long term electrofishing project (LTEF).
