Past Pirates
Ann Myers
Artist/Volunteer Ann graduated from Cleveland Institute of Art with a major in Silversmithing and Enameling. She also graduated with a minor in Graphic Arts. She attended graduate school at California State University majoring in Metalsmithing. Ann had a jewelry studio on St. Croix U.S.V.I., moved to Palm Coast in 1992 and worked with various media. Ann began as a volunteer at Whitney Lab in 2000 while simultaneously doing research at GTM NERR with Rick Gleeson. Ann is currently volunteering in the Osborne lab doing water sampling for José Núñez studying plankton. Ann is also working on a series of watercolor paintings and other marine related art in Dr. Osborne's lab. |
Anna Beard
Analytical Laboratory Manager Anna has a Bachelor of Science from Stetson University focused in Marine Biology. In her career she focused her research on the aerial respiration of the juvenile armored catfish (Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus). She now manages the Osborne lab with responsibilities that includes analytical chemistry, field work, and maintaining an administrative role among MANY other duties. Her main goal is to create a productive work environment for successful students and postdoctoral researchers. She is very passionate about the frailty of aquatic ecosystems. Aiding in conservation and research of Florida's amazing waterways is a dream and finds this makes the Osborne lab a great fit for her! |
Sara Phelps
Staff Scientist at Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc. Sara is primarily interested in geochemical processes in a variety of environments, and exploring how these processes relate to hydrology, nutrient availability, water quality, and management. When at Whitney she was a PhD student studying the following questions: 1) How do hydrology and aquatic biogeochemical processes in wetlands, streams, and lakes control soil phosphorus fractions, specifically inorganic phosphorus? 2) What are the major aquatic biogeochemical processes that control mineral phosphate dissolution kinetics under natural conditions? 3) What is the relative spatial extent and environmental impact of mineral phosphate weathering and dissolution in aquatic systems (with use of a case study from North Central Florida). She is currently working as a staff scientist at Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc. |
José Núñez
Research Scientist José Núñez has a Bachelors degree in biology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas and a Masters degree in Ecology from the University of California, Davis. Since 1994, he has been a researcher at University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, with a 3-year appointment as the Flagler County School District STEM/service-learning coordinator. Prior to that, José was a researcher at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, and at the University of California, Davis. His research fields to date include aquatic ecology, aquatic toxicology and cancer research (using fish as models), and aquaculture and developmental biology of fresh and saltwater fish, shrimps and bivalves. For 13 years Jose volunteered with the Flagler County Legacy Program at the Princess Place Preserve, for which he developed a high school salt marsh curriculum. From 2000-2008, he was a Florida Master Naturalist instructor. Currently, he is a part of Dr. Todd Osborne’s Lab at the Whitney Lab, where he heads the Oyster/Clam Restoration and the Matanzas River Basin Biodiversity initiatives and manages the bivalve hatchery. |
Phil Cubbedge
Assists with oyster and clam restoration projects. Phil is a St. Augustine native and assists Jose Nunez from the Osborne Lab with building oyster cages and modules, measuring oyster growth in the field and the Whitney Laboratory, deploying modules in the field, restoring oyster reefs, collecting wild oysters and clams for breeding, and assisting with maintenance and operation of the bivalve hatchery. |
Julie Walker
PhD student Julie Walker is a PhD student co-advised by Dr.Todd Osborne and Dr. Christine Angelini. She is a part of the University of Florida and Smithsonian Institution partnership as a Marine Conservation Fellow. Her current research interests are studying the ecological impact of climate induced range shifts of tropical mangrove trees into neo-tropical wetlands, with a regional focus on the mangrove-saltmarsh ecotone in St. Augustine, Florida. Julie’s future research goals include expanding her area of study to include ecological significance of loss and changes to foundation species across the globe as a result of anthroprogenic stress. |
Sabrina Schofield
Research Assistant Sabrina is working on the Indian River Lagoon clam restoration initiative along with other shellfish related projects. She is responsible for maintaining field experiments and out planting sites in the Northern IRL and Southern Mosquito Lagoons. Sabrina loves the outdoors and all things marine biology. |
Leonardo Ibarra-Castro
PH.D. Research Assistant Scientist Dr. Leonardo Ibarra-Castro obtained a B.S in Aquaculture from the University Autonomous of Sinaloa, Faculty of Marine Science in 1997. In 2005, under Dr. Neil Duncan, he earned a M.S. degree in Marine Fish Reproduction and in 2008 earned a Ph.D. also in Marine Fish Reproduction under Dr. Luis Sergio Alvarez-Lajonchere. Both degrees were obtained at the Research for Food and Development A.C. from Mazatlan Sinaloa Mexico. During 2009 and 2010 he was a postdoc at the University of Texas at Austin, in the Marine Science Institute and in the University National Autonomous of Mexico, working with the reproduction and larval culture of marine fish. |
Jamila Roth
Visiting Scholar Jamila Roth is a PhD student in the School of Natural Resources and Environment. For her dissertation, she is researching the impact of environmental change on seagrass resilience and seagrass-herbivore interactions. She is specifically interested in how seagrass species diversity impacts seagrass resilience and how seagrasses will respond to increases in grazing pressure due to tropicalization. At the Whitney Lab, she has conducted experiments exploring how warming temperatures and increased grazing pressure together impact turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), as well as experiments exploring the effects of warming temperatures and nutrients on sea urchin feeding decisions. This summer, Jamila is planning to run various experiments related to emerald parrotfish feeding behavior. |
Rasmus Jøhnk Bjerregaard
Intern Rasmus is currently studying City Planning and Environmental Planning at Roskilde University in Denmark. As part of the studies in City Planning he is writing an assignment about how a group of organizations are planning to establish a nature park in a new part of Copenhagen and the process of how to make the plan a reality. Besides his project, he has also learned how to plan the infrastructure of modern cities and how to make cities a place where people can thrive. He will soon start on Environmental Planning, in which he hopes to use some of the things he learned from his internship at Whitney Laboratory. For his next project he hopes he can do some research on how to make cities a better place for biodiversity. |
Alex Fast
Intern Alex was a research volunteer with the Osborne Lab from 2018 – 2021 while pursuing his Bachelors in Environmental Management in Agricultural and Natural Resources at the University of Florida. While at the Osborne Lab, he worked with Ph.D. student Sara Phelps in conducting her research as well as learning laboratory management duties with the lab manager, Anna. Recently, he returned to UF to pursue his Masters in Plant Pathology with Prof. Nian Wang, where he will be working with treatments to Citrus Canker, a bacteria disease affecting citrus trees, using functional genomics of the plant-bacteria interaction of the disease. Alex hopes to continue to his Ph.D. and become a professor, continuing his research while mentoring students, with a particular interest in providing undergraduate research opportunities and mentorship. When Alex is not in school, he pursues a variety of other interests, such as repairing watches and clocks, listening to music (mainly jazz, psychedelic rock and rap), learning the saxophone, and hiking. |