People
The Castorani Lab includes research staff, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers studying coastal marine ecology.
Principal investigator
Max C. N. Castorani
Education:
2014 Ph.D. Ecology, University of California, Davis and San Diego State University
2008 B.S. Evolution and Ecology, Ohio State University
Appointments:
2023–present. Associate Professor, University of Virginia
2017–2023. Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
2014–2017. Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Santa Barbara
Professional roles:
Lead PI, NSF Virginia Coast Reserve LTER
Subject-matter Editor, Ecology
Co-director, UVA Environmental and Biological Conservation Specialization
Curriculum vitae | Google Scholar profile
Email: castorani@virginia.edu
Lab manager and lead research technician
Wil Atencio
Education:
2024 M.S. Biology, Georgia Southern University
2020 B.S. Zoology, University of Wyoming
Research interests: oyster reef ecology, host-parasite dynamics, ecosystem function, restoration, coastal conservation
Email: watencio@virginia.edu
Postdoctoral scholars
Mark Morales
Education:
2023 Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
2019 M.S. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
2014 B.S. Environmental Systems, University of California, San Diego
Appointments:
2024–2026. Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Santa Cruz
Research interests: fisheries oceanography, ecosystem modeling, spatial population dynamics, individual-based modeling
Email: gya5dh@virginia.edu
Graduate students
Billie Beckley
Ph.D. candidate (at UC Santa Barbara; co-advised with Robert Miller)
Education:
2020 M.S. Ecology, San Diego State University
2014 B.S. Environmental Science, Dickinson College
Research interests: marine ecology, conservation, disturbance ecology, kelp forests, primary producers
Email: billiebeckley@ucsb.edu
Lauren E. Brideau
Ph.D. candidate
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
Education:
2020 B.S. Environmental Systems & Sustainability Studies, Southern Connecticut State Univ.
Research interests: community ecology, restoration, ecosystem function, seagrass meadows, coastal dynamics
Email: lbrideau@virginia.edu
Ethan Kadiyala
Ph.D. candidate
Education:
2020 B.S. Environmental Studies & Physical Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara
Research interests: conservation science, coastal ecology, biogeography, biological oceanography, marine community ecology
Email: ekadiyala@virginia.edu
Eleanor McGrath
Ph.D. student
Education:
2024 B.A. Environmental Science, Colby College
Research interests: marine community ecology, foundation species, disturbance ecology, conservation
Email: nbq2wt@virginia.edu
Chris Oxley
Ph.D. student
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow; UVA Presidential Fellow
Education:
2022 B.S. Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston
Research interests: coastal ecology, community ecology, conservation, restoration, invertebrate zoology
Email: ewc5gu@virginia.edu
Shirah Strock
Ph.D. student
Education:
2025 M.S. Biology, Sonoma State University
2022 B.S. Marine Biology and Environmental Science, Roger Williams University
Research interests: kelp, foundation species, biodiversity, marine ecology, restoration ecology, conservation
Email: snf5wx@virginia.edu
Caitlin Zimmer
Ph.D. student
Education:
2025 M.S. Biology, University of New Mexico
2021 B.S. Environmental Biology, Tulane University
Research interests: coastal ecology, restoration, food web structure, species interactions, science communication
Email: rps5jw@virginia.edu
Undergraduate students
Samantha Cupka
Distinguished Majors Program (2026–2027)
Research Technician (2025–2026)
Education: 2027 B.S. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Research interests: coastal ecology, marine biology, conservation
Emma Ellsworth
Research Technician (2025–2026)
Education: 2027 B.S. Biology and Minor Data Science, University of Virginia
Research interests: marine ecology, coastal ecosystems, restoration, biodiversity conservation
Parker Harman
Research Technician (2026)
Education: 2028 B.S. Environmental Sciences and Biology, University of Virginia
Research interests: marine ecosystems, biological sciences, genetics
Caroline Just
Research Technician (2025–2026)
Education: 2028 B.A. Environmental Sciences and B.A. Economics, University of Virginia
Research interests: conservation, restoration, coastal ecology
Sophia Korte
Research Technician (2025–2026)
Education: 2028 B.A. Environmental Thought and Practice, University of Virginia
Research interests: conservation, restoration, environmental justice, coastal ecology
Emma Lellouche
Research Technician (2026)
Education: 2027 B.S. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Research interests: coral reef conservation, coastal ecology, marine biology, and restoration
Sophie May
Research Technician (2025–2026)
Education: 2028 B.A. Environmental Thought and Practice and B.A. Environmental Science, University of Virginia
Research interests: conservation, coastal ecology, restoration, biodiversity
Hildy Meyers
Research Technician (2026)
Education: 2029 B.S. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Research interests: conservation, coastal ecology, restoration
Caroline Smith
Research Technician (2025–2026)
Education: 2027 B.S. Biology, University of Virginia
Research interests: evolution and ecology, disease ecology, phycology, environmental science
Anna Beth Thorne
Research Technician (2026)
Education: 2028 B.S. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Research interests: disturbance ecology, conservation, coastal ecosystems, science communication, environmental justice
Anish Vaze
Research Technician (2026)
Education: 2028 B.A. History, University of Virginia
Research interests: marine biology, breast cancer
Lab alumni
- Emily M. Goetz (2022–2024).
- Amanda C. Lohmann (2023–2024).
- Subsequent position: Data Scientist at Global Fishing Watch.
- Maowei Liang (2021–2022).
- Subsequent position: Research Scientist at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve and LTER, University of Minnesota.
- Rachel S. Smith (2019–2022). TNC NatureNet Science Fellow.
- Subsequent position: Assistant Researcher at University of California, Santa Barbara (SONGS Mitigation Monitoring Program).
- Michael R. Cornish, Ph.D. (2019–2025). Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow.
- Subsequent position: Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Sean B. Hardison, Ph.D. (2019–2024). Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow.
- Subsequent position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Alaska Fairbanks and NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
- Kinsey N. Tedford, Ph.D. (2018–2023). Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow; Jefferson Scholars Foundation Fellow.
- Subsequent position: Fisheries Program Manager, Oyster Recovery Partnership.
- Isabelle Benson. Virginia Coast Reserve LTER REU (2026). “Searching for sponges.”
- Tara Udani. Research Technician (2025–2026).
- James Meath. Research Technician (2025–2026).
- Du Zhixun. Research Technician (2025–2026).
- Elizabeth Shiker. Research Technician (2024–2026).
- Sophia Kuzminski. Research Technician (2023–2026).
- Charlotte Phillips. Research Technician (2025).
- Tori Dickerson. Research Technician (2025).
- Emily Barker. Lead Undergraduate Research Technician (2024–2025); Research Technician (2022–2025).
- Maya Tatel-McMillen. Research Technician (2023–2025).
- Ella Mortimer. Research Technician (2023–2025).
- Rachel Bohannon. Research Technician (2021–2025).
- Annie Wolsborn. Research Technician (2024–2025).
- Aleyna Loughran-Pierce. Research Technician (2024–2025); Coastal-Heartland Marine Biology Summer Research Exchange Program (2024); Distinguished Majors Program (2024–2025). “The effects of winter wave disturbance on kelp forest functional groups.”
- Maddi Crowe. Research Technician (2025).
- Kendle Schooler. Research Technician (2025).
- Jenny Hunsinger. Research Technician (2025).
- Fernando Miguelena. Coastal-Heartland Marine Biology Summer Research Exchange Program (2024).
- Sela Raisl. Coastal-Heartland Marine Biology Summer Research Exchange Program (2024).
- Samuel Solomon. Research Technician (2022–2024).
- Luciana Codella. Distinguished Majors Program (2019–2020). “The response of eastern bluebird clutch size and first egg date to environmental factors.”
- Parker Sims. Research Technician (2023).
- Caroline Speidel. Research Technician (2023).
- Mandy Unterhalter. Research Technician (2023).
- Lillibet Woodward. Research Technician (2023).
- James Davis. Research Technician (2022–2023); Virginia Coast Reserve LTER REU (2022).
- Chloe Wetzler. Research Technician (2022–2023).
- Connor Dooren. Research Technician (2021–2023).
- Miriam Wanner. Senior Thesis (2021–2023); “Dispersal synchronizes giant kelp forests.”
- Katharine Schlachter. Research Technician (2020–2023); Virginia Coast Reserve LTER REU (2021); Distinguished Majors Program (2021–2022). “Suspended algal dynamics across a seagrass landscape.”
- Olivia Redding. Research Technician (2019–2023); Distinguished Majors Program (2022–2023). “The effects of plant roots on loggerhead turtle nest success.”
- Renee Hebert. Research Technician (2022).
- Mattie Anderton. Research Technician (2022).
- Jesus Neyra. Research Technician (2021–2022).
- Selina Cheng. Research Technician (2020–2021); Virginia Coast Reserve LTER REU (2019); Distinguished Majors Program (2020–2021). “Blue crab spatial patterns across a seagrass landscape.”
- Alex Marshall. Research Technician (2020).
- Hayley Marshall. Research Technician (2020).
- Camille Wilson. Research Technician (2019–2021); Distinguished Majors Program (2021–2022). “Comparing scale and otolith age estimates to understand the potential bias of long-term American shad age data in the Penobscot River.”
- Madeleine Ross. Research Technician (2019–2021).
- Elizabeth Eareckson. Research Technician (2019–2020).
- Shivani Lakshman. Research Technician (2019–2020).
- Jun DeBus. Research Technician (2018–2020).
- Carrie Wentzel. Research Technician (2018–2020); Senior Thesis (2019–2020). “Spatial variation in seagrass recovery following habitat restoration.”
- Sophia Rosenberg. Research Technician (2018–2020); Distinguished Majors Program (2019–2020). “Biodiversity of oyster reef invertebrates at the Virginia Coast Reserve.”
- Sarah Lang. Virginia Space Grant Consortium REU (2019); Distinguished Majors Program (2020–2021). “Modeling coastal water clarity using Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2.”
- Elizabeth Daly. Research Technician (2018–2019); Virginia Coast Reserve LTER REU (2018). “Spatial distributions of large invertebrate consumers across a seagrass landscape.”
- Samantha Townsend. Research Technician (2018–2019).
- Elizabeth Bieri. Virginia Coast Reserve LTER REU (2018). “Effects of seagrass landscape structure on the growth of hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria.”
- Emily Riley. Research Technician (2018).
- Taylor Traxler. Senior Thesis (2015–2017). Santa Barbara Coastal LTER, University of California, Santa Barbara. “Long-term experimental disturbance of giant kelp forests.”
- Taylor Simpkins. Research Technician (2012–2013). Coastal and Marine Institute, San Diego State University. “The effects of the exotic Asian mussel on the resilience of eelgrass to disturbance.”
- Elizabeth Travis. Senior Thesis (2012–2013). Coastal and Marine Institute, San Diego State University. “Stable isotopes as a tool to trace California spiny lobster food webs.”
- Cristina Lever. Research Technician (2011–2012). Coastal and Marine Institute, San Diego State University. “Effects of native predator chemical cues on anti-predation behaviors in an invasive marine bivalve.”
- Olivia Turnross. Research Technician (2010). Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis. “Interactions between eelgrass Zostera marina and ghost shrimp Neotrypaea californiensis.