Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

I received my bachelor's degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science in December of 2007 from California University of Pennsylvania where I completed an independent Honor's Thesis assessing the presence of endocrine disruption in carp downstream of sewage effluents in the Monongahela River. After graduation I worked as a Fisheries Biologist Aide for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) until August 2008 when I began work as a research technician for the PA USGS CFWRU. Before beginning my Master's degree I aided in assessing the effects of panfish enhancement regulations in PA lakes with Dr. Tyler Wagner and the PFBC, as well as fish health in the Susquehanna, Potomac, and Shenandoah River's with Dr's Vicki Blazer and Luke Iwanowicz of USGS. When I am not working on my thesis I enjoy spending time doing the things that led me to pursue a higher education in natural resource science, hunting and fishing.. Broadly, my research interests include a combination fish health, anthropogenic aquatic toxicants and policy. More specifically, my present thesis research focuses on examining the distribution of PCB congeners in aquatic systems in both the field and laboratory. This study aims to assess the effects of lipid depletion on PCB congener dynamics and their association with innate immune function in Channel Catfish. It is my hope that this research will help advance current knowledge of PCB congeners in the environment as well as implications for fish and human health ...